As he turns 44 today in the company of loved ones and close friends, Manny Pacquiao will not only have to entertain his guests but also be asked about one tricky subject matter.
Is he going to stay retired?
Or is he staging a comeback in 2023?
Fresh from doing an exhibition in Seoul, Korea, Pacquiao had been kind of cryptic the past few weeks.
On the eve of his trouble-free win over mixed martial arts specialist DK Yoo, Pacquiao floated the idea of battling two of today’s leading welterweights: Terence Crawford and Errol Spence.
Another option according to the eight-division champion is a rematch with Floyd Mayweather, who beat him more than seven years ago in Las Vegas.
As of this day, the famed Filipino southpaw swears that he is retired.
But boxing’s incredible pull seems to be gaining ground.
In the run-up to the Yoo special event, Pacquiao set up camp in General Santos City and trained under the watchful eyes of the very same men who supervised his training in the United States and elsewhere.
He hardly missed a beat in his daily workouts and even went the extra mile by doing morning roadwork and shooting hoops at night.
Shortly after the unique clash with Yoo, Pacquiao insisted he wished that the event lasted more than six rounds, lamenting that the two-minute rounds were simply too short for him to get warmed up.
Reading between the lines, Pacquiao looks poised to make another run since in his last appearance, Yordenis Ugas of Cuba left him with a broken heart.
But the first few weeks or even months of 2023 will play a crucial role in his decision as the opinion of his family, particularly his wife Jinkee and their children should weigh heavily.
In the meantime, Pacquiao needs a break and deserves to celebrate.
