By Jamal Dicky
When a fighter gets knocked out cold the way that Manny Pacquiao did against Juan Manuel Marquez, they are never the same, and those type of one punch KO’s take their toll on a fighter.
Boxing fans have been speculating whether or not Pacquiao can return to form, if he will be the same fighter that made him so fierce in the ring, in my opinion he has already been broken and exposed.
In a recent interview in the Philippines, Manny said that he would return in September but one thing that stood out to me was his admission to crying after watching his devastating knockout. He claimed that the KO didn’t really bother him until he saw the fans hurt and devastated by the outcome.
In my opinion, I believe those tears were tears of fear and shame. He was so shocked by the KO and after seeing himself getting put to sleep it already planted the image in his brain, this image will haunt him for the rest of his boxing career and make him no longer pull the trigger in aggressive fashion like he once did before. A KO like that will stay in the back of your mind, his chin was already cracked and he showed huge emotion by crying after witnessing himself knocked out so savagely.
Pacquiao is just trying to psych himself up, and give a front to his fans and the public by claiming that the KO will not affect the way he fights. If he fights someone in September that can punch or hits him hard one time, it will bring back the memory of when Juan Manuel Marquez dropping him and then later knocking him out cold, and Pacquiao might actually run for the first time in his career after feeling a hard punch.
I feel Manny Pacquiao is heading down the path of a boxer in denial. This is the life of the sport, boxing fans should realize boxers rise and they fall, and when it’s time to retire some fighters live in denial and will continue to fight on trying to regain the glory they once had.
