NANINIWALA si Robert Garcia na pababa na ang boxing career ni Manny Pacquiao. “Everybody’s end comes someday and it could be this fight,” wika ni Garcia na sinasanay si Brandon Rios.
Sina Pacquiao at Rios ay magtutuos bukas sa Cotai Arena sa The Venetian, Macau, China at hanap ng Pambansang Kamao na wakasan ang dalawang dikit na pagkatalo kina Timothy Bradley at Juan Manuel Marquez noong 2012.
Sa mga kabiguang ito ay may mga nakita umano si Garcia na kanilang gagamitin para ipalasap ang ikatlong sunod na pagkatalo ni Pacman.
“The Manny of three, four years before should have beaten Bradley. Marquez is 40 years old and Pacquiao was supposed to beat him, to knock him out.
Pacquiao got tired and he got knocked out, it wouldn’t have happened three or four years ago. He hasn’t dropped anybody since 2009,” dagdag nito.
Huling nakapagtala ng knockout win si Pacquiao noong Nobyembre 14, 2009 laban kay Miguel Angel Cotto sa Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pero agad na isinantabi ni Freddie Roach ang obserbasyon ni Garcia. “Does he see my guy train everyday, does he see the sacrifices my guy goes through, does he see the roadwork we do everyday?” banat ni Roach.
Aminado si Roach na nawala ang pagiging knockout artist ni Pacquiao dahil nagkakaroon siya ng awa sa mga nakalaban matapos magbalik-loob sa Diyos.
Pero nakikita ni Roach na ang dating Pacquiao ang sasampa ng ring bukas matapos ang pagkatalo sa huling dalawang laban.
“Coming off two losses, he knows he has to be impressive, and being impressive is not winning by close decision, being impressive is winning by knockout,” paliwanag ni Roach.
“I don’t feel Rios can go the distance with a guy with the talents of Manny Pacquiao, It’s a world-class fighter going in against a guy who is a journeyman at best,” pahayag pa ng batikang trainer.
Ang laban na ito ay iniaalay ni Pacquiao sa mga biktima ng super typhoon Yolanda sa Visayas. Pero dinagdagan pa ni Top Rank promoter Bob Arum ang nakataya sa makukuhang panalo ni Pacquiao matapos sabihing itutulak niya na matuloy na ang matagal nang pinaplano na mega fight sa pagitan ni Pacquiao at ang walang talong si Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“Yes, we’re open to it. There are ways it can get done. They have to dumb down the rhetoric, we are prepared to dumb down the rhetoric and get it done,” pahayag ni Arum.
Nauna nang tiniyak ni Pacquiao na nasa matinding kondisyon ang kanyang pangangatawan bunga ng sampung linggong paghahanda na ginawa sa General Santos City.