Bob Arum: Mayweather fight or retirement for Pacquiao

By: Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

After a convincing victory against top welterweight Keith “One Time” Thurman, Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao proved that he can still compete against welterweight division’s best. Pacquiao shrugged off talks of retirement and plans to dominate and pursue his boxing career.

Several big names in the sport expressed their reactions towards Pacquaio, and that includes his long-time promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank.

Arum said that Pacman should be careful with chasing the top names in the division like Errol Spence Jr. and Shawn Porter as this would only cause premature damage to his body.

“He’s an exceptionally good human being, really a fine guy, extraordinarily charitable and a delight. But he’s (almost) 41-years-old. And if you’re 41 you can’t take punishment. You can’t take blows like he did in the Thurman fight. Sure, he won that fight, but he took a lot of punishment. That punishment is going to have a serious effect on how he lives the rest of his life.” Arum stated.

Arum felt Pacman’s biggest what-if is with Mayweather, and he thinks that it is the only fight to be pursued to finally cement his legacy in the world of boxing.

“If he gets Mayweather, do that fight and retire. If he doesn’t get Mayweather he should retire. It’s not worth it for him to continue boxing.”