[SPORTS] And the Hero Becomes the Legend
Written by Sean Mores
After an astonishing 26-year career, Manny Pacquiao has called it quits.
On Tuesday, September 28th, Former World Champion Manny Pacquiao, also known as “Pacman,” announced his retirement on his Facebook page posting a 15 min long video. In that video, Pacquiao thanked every family that helped him accomplish his dreams and the success of his career. He also thanked the sport itself as it gave his family a better life stating, “To the greatest fans and the greatest sport in the world, thank you! Thank you for all the wonderful memories. This is the hardest decision I’ve ever made, but I’m at peace with it. Chase your dreams, work hard, and watch what happens. Goodbye boxing.”
WATCH: Manny Pacquiao retires from boxing | Rappler via YouTube
Pacquiao ended his career with 62 wins with 39 wins by KO and eight losses and two draws. Pacquiao is also the only boxer to win twelve major titles in an eight-weight division. He was also the first boxer ever to win a Lineal Championship in five different weight divisions.
Pacquiao made his official debut on January 22, 1995, in a four-round match against Edmund Ignacio. Pacquiao won via unanimous decision and got instantly recognized after this victory.
After his last fight with Cuban Professional and former Boxer Olympian bronze medalist Yordenis Ugas on August 21, losing via unanimous decision by a margin of 101 to 8. After that devastating loss, Pacquiao was left to decide whether to continue fighting for the next two years or call it a career.
Pacquiao wasn’t just known for boxing and politics; but also a multi-sport man. He is good at other sports fields like basketball and even owned, coached, and played for a PBA team from 2014 to 2017.
With his Boxing career now done, Pacquiao plans to pursue politics full time. Just last September 19, Pacquiao announced his plans for his presidential bid for next year’s election with a statement, “I’m a fighter and will always be a fighter, inside and outside of the ring,” Pacquiao said at the event.
“All my life, I haven’t backed down from any fight. Nothing is impossible if God ordains it.”
Nothing ever came easy for Pacquiao. For him, he had witnessed the lowest of lows, coming from a family who was under severe poverty. He had to do everything to get them out, from being cut from the Olympics to being told that he would never have a future with boxing. Faithfully, his hard work, determination, and patience paid off. Undoubtedly, Pacquiao remains a motivation to many young aspiring athletes, and his legacy will be remembered for the generation to come.
THE AUTHOR
Hello! I’m Sean Maverick Lowell Mores from HUMSS1A, 16 years old from Pasig City. I am a Sports Writer and one of the Section Editors for this year’s Tigercubs. I usually spend my time listening to countless albums, working out, playing sports, and doing various Graphic Designs/Visual Arts. Plugging an art account (@moresthecreator) I handle dedicated for all the edits I compose.
As a writer I see myself as someone who always takes a unique and uncanny way of writing, I always liked to be separated from the rest and to stand out amongst many. I am also not biased on my contents; for the people need to understand that we can make our societies much more aware. I won’t and will never change my writing style for anyone. Being a part of this year’s tigercubs really meant a lot to me, it wasn’t something I dreamt about and I didn’t see myself fitting to be a journalist, but as I grow as a person, I slowly realize that I can actually benefit from the things I believe am good at. Being a first-timer journalist and a section editor, really meant a lot to me. I am forever thankful for this opportunity that came.
