SPORTS SHORTS 214: LIKE OTHER BOXING LEGENDS, LOSS TO YORDENIS UGAS DOES NOT DIMINISH MANNY PACQUIAO'S GREATNESS IF HE RETIRES
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 10 Sep 2021
Buboy Fernandez believes his childhood friend Manny Pacquiao should retire from boxing with a win. He wants the senator to quit his colorful fighting career with glowing fireworks.
* * *
“It’s not nice seeing him retire from the sport of boxing coming off a loss,” Fernandez was quoted by Daily Tribune. Fernandez, vice mayor of Polangui, Albay, asserts that a fighter of Pacquiao's stature deserves an appropriate send-off with no less than a big win.
* * *
The convincing unanimous decision and the Compubox figures plus Pacquiao’s difficulty in avoiding punches and connecting his blows were causes of concern for long time trainer Freddie Roach.
* * *
“I’m a little bit worried about it, yes,” Roach said at the news conference. “I’d hate to see that day when he retires, but this could be it.”
* * *
But Fernandez affirms Pacquiao, who will be 43 years in December, still has a lot of gas left in his his tank and he can win one final fight before finally saying goodbye to the sport which gave him fame and fortune. If Pacquiao decides to fight one more time, Fernandez thinks it can happen on December or in early January.
* * *
"It’s up to him. It’s his call, his decision to make,” Fernandez said, stressing that Pacquiao losing to Ugas was not the ideal way people should remember the boxing great.
* * *
“He should retire on a winning note and cap his career with a big bang.” Fernandez explained the final fight could be against any fighter, not necessarily a rematch against Ugas.
* * *
“The important thing is for him to win that last fight because it’s just not right that you leave the sport coming from a loss. That’s going to hurt a lot,” the vice mayor cum trainer explained.
* * *
Buboy's sentiment is well understood since he is like a brother to Manny. But if Pacquiao finally calls it a career, it won't diminish his excellent boxing record as a respected only eight-division world champion with 12 world titles and as one of the greatest fighters of all time.
* * *
Several great boxing legends incurred distressed defeats in their final trip atop the ring. But their fame and eminence were not diminished and only their exemplary achievements were thoroughly remembered.
* * *
Pacquiao's loss to Ugas was even better than other boxing legend's farewell fights. Pacquiao finished the full twelve rounds on his feet and did not kiss the canvas. He fought well in some rounds especially the opening round.
* * *
Muhammad Ali fought Larry Holmes for the WBC heavyweight title, obviously due to Ali's need for money. Holmes' trainer Richie Giachetti said, "Larry didn't want to fight Ali. He knew Ali had nothing left; he knew it would be a horror."
* * *
The fight took place on October 2, 1980, in Las Vegas Valley, with Holmes easily dominating Ali. In the eleventh round, Angelo Dundee told the referee to stop the fight, making it the only time that Ali ever lost in his career by stoppage. After the fight, Holmes went back to his dressing room and cried.
* * *
Despite clamors to definitively retire, Ali fought one last time on December 11, 1981, in Nassau, Bahamas, against Trevor Berbick, losing a ten-round unanimous decision. Ali finally retired with 56 wins, 5 losses and 37 wins by knockout and only 1 knockout loss. He was still widely regarded as "The Greatest".
* * *
Julio Cesar Chavez in his last fight lost to
American Grover Wiley by 4th round TKO on September 17, 2005 at the America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona. He has a career record of 107 wins, 6 losses, 86 KO wins and 2 draws.
* * *
Chavez retired in his corner before the start of the 5th round, due to his right hand injury. He definitely retired from boxing after the loss. His defeat was avenged two years later by his son, Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., who knocked Wiley out in the third round of their fight. Chavez Sr. remained a respected boxing legend after his final defeat.
* * *
Sugar Ray Robinson fought for the final time in November 1965, losing a unanimous decision to Joey Archer. He was even knocked down and Archer admitted that it was only the second time he had knocked an opponent down in his career. Robinson is still considered by many analysts as the "best fighter pound-for-pound of all time".
* * *
The crowd of 9,023 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh gave Robinson several standing ovations, even if he was being thoroughly battered by Archer. After that, Robinson announced his retirement from boxing with a record of 173–19–6 with 2 no contests and 109 knockouts in 200 professional bouts.
* * *
Joe Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He was the world heavyweight champion from 1937 until his temporary retirement in 1949. He was successful in 25 consecutive title defenses, a record for all weight classes. Louis had the longest single reign as champion of any boxer in history.
* * *
Joe Louis lost to Rocky Marciano by 8th round TKO on October 26, 1951 at the Madison Square Garden, New York. He retired after that 69th career fight with 66 wins, 3 losses and 52 KO wins.
* * *
On February 9, 1991, Sugar Ray Leonard scaled down to fight WBC light middleweight champion Terry Norris at Madison Square Garden. Leonard entered the bout as a 3-1 favorite but Norris dominated the fight, giving Leonard a solid beating. He knocked Leonard down in the second and in the seventh round.
* * *
Leonard lost by a one-sided decision with scores 120–104, 119–103, and 116–110. Leonard then announced his retirement. But on March 1, 1997, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the 40-year-old Leonard fought the 34-year-old Hector Camacho for the minor International Boxing Council (IBC) middleweight title.
* * *
In the fifth round, Camacho dropped Leonard with a right followed by two left uppercuts. The referee stopped the fight and it was the only time in Leonard's career that he was knocked out. He finished his career with a record of 36–3–1 with 25 knockouts.
* * *
Marvelous Marvin Hagler lost to Sugar Ray Leonard by a very controversial split decision on April 6, 1987 at the Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, losing his WBC and The Ring middleweight titles. The scores were 115-113 for Hagler and 115-113 and 118-110 for Leonard.
* * *
Hagler retired from boxing on June 13, 1988 and declared that he was "tired of waiting" for Leonard to grant him a rematch. He has a record of 62 wins, 3 losses, 52 knockout wins and 2 draws.
* * *
Roberto Duran lost to Hector Camacho by unanimous decision on July 14, 2001 at the Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado, losing his NBA super middleweight title to the Puerto Rican. Duran retired after the fight with 103 wins, 16 losses and 70 wins by knockout.
* * *
George Foreman was defeated by Shannon Briggs by majority decision on November 22, 1997 at age 48 years and 316 days at the Etess Arena, Atlantic City, New Jersey. He finally hanged his gloves after that with 76 wins, 5 losses and 68 wins by knockout.
* * *
On June 11, 2005, Mike Tyson stunned the boxing world by quitting the fight before the start of the seventh round in a close bout against journeyman Kevin McBride.
* * *
Tyson said he fought McBride for the money, that he did not expect to win, that he was in poor physical condition and was tired with taking boxing seriously. After losing three of his last four fights, Tyson quit boxing because he felt he had lost his enthusiasm for the sport. He had 50 wins, 6 losses, 44 wins by KO and 2 no contests.
* * *
Gabriel "Flash" Elorde lost to Japanese Hiruyuki Murakami by unanimous decision in Tokyo, Japan in his farewell fight on May 20, 1971. He retired with a record 89–27–2 with 33 KOs. He was always remembered as the longest reigning Filipino world champion.
* * *
Pancho Villa was beaten by Canadian Jimmy McLarnin on July 4, 1925 at the Oaks Ballpark, Emeryville, California. He died after the fight due to tooth extraction infection. He had 89 wins with 22 knockouts, 8 losses, 4 draws, and 2 no decision. He is often regarded as one of the top three flyweights in the world.
* * *
Ceferino Garcia was defeated by Bill McDowell on January 15, 1945 at the City Auditorium, Houston, Texas and hanged up his gloves for good afterward. He had 120 wins, 30 losses, 76 knockout wins and 14 draws.
* * *
He holds the record of the most victories ever achieved by a Filipino boxer and is also the only boxer from the country to become world champion in the middleweight division.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
WEIGHIN RESULTS FOR RAMIREZ VS. BARTHELEMY | ORTIZ JR. VS. DULORME DOUBLEHEADER
Sat, 27 Apr 2024"LET"S SETTLE" NINE PHILLY FIGHTERS ON ONE PHILLY CARD Saturday, April 27, Liacouras Center on the Campus of Temple!
Sat, 27 Apr 2024DEFENDING CHAMPION KO PIN YI ADVANCES TO QUARTER-FINALS | WORLD POOL MASTERS 2024
Sat, 27 Apr 2024MCGRAIL VS. LEACH WEIGHTS AND RUNNING ORDER
Sat, 27 Apr 2024WBC 2024 Convention to Held in Hamburg
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Sat, 27 Apr 2024Hall of Famer & Boxing Icon Roberto Duran Confirmed for Seventh Annual Box Fan Expo, During Cinco De Mayo Weekend, Saturday May 4, in Las Vegas
Sat, 27 Apr 2024HISTORY MADE AS EFREN REYES CUP TO LAUNCH IN THE PHILIPPINES IN 2024
Fri, 26 Apr 2024Denver Proves It Can Win in Los Angeles as Knicks, Cavaliers Fall in Philadelphia, Orlando
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, Fri, 26 Apr 2024IMs Young, De Guzman to compete in Vietnam
By Marlon Bernardino, Fri, 26 Apr 2024RAMIREZ VS. BARTHELEMY | ORTIZ VS. DULORME DOUBLEHEADER FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTESS
Fri, 26 Apr 2024ADRIEN BRONER VS BLAIR COBBS, MIKAELJAN VS. ROZICKI ON FRIDAY, JUNE 7 AT SEMINOLE HARD ROCK HOTEL & CASINO
Fri, 26 Apr 2024DAZN teams up with OnlyFans for boxing content
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Fri, 26 Apr 2024Jafarov, Lukas, Kittipong, Hawton, Purcell Score KO Wins in Highland Show in Thailand
By Carlos Costa, Fri, 26 Apr 2024MCGRAIL VS. LEACH FINAL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
Fri, 26 Apr 2024TOP AMERICAN HEAVYWEIGHT JERMAINE FRANKLIN HEADLINES NEXT INSTALLMENT OF “BIG TIME BOXING USA,” PRESENTED BY SALITA PROMOTIONS
Fri, 26 Apr 2024