By Miko L. Morelos, Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines—Pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao hinted he might retire any time soon, dashing hopes for a mega-buck fight with the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr., who faces Shane Mosley in May.
The Filipino, who held court in the New World Hotel in Makati, said his mother Dionesia has been asking him not to fight anymore considering the dangers of the sport.
“She [Dionesia] told me that she would be on her knees just to make me stop fighting. I don’t want to see my mother like that,” he told reporters at a brief talk in the hotel lobby where he was accompanied by his family and posse.
Among the familiar faces in the welcoming crowd was Nacionalista standard-bearer Manuel Villar, whose hand Pacquiao raised after his talk. Former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis Chavit Singson and former environment secretary Lito Atienza, the come-backing mayoral hopeful in Manila, stood beside Pacquiao.
The Pacquiao entourage arrived in the hotel a couple of minutes past 7 a.m. as its staff, holding small Philippine flags, cheered upon seeing the champion at the doorstep. In the past few years, Pacquiao has been laying-off in the hotel hours prior to his customary hearing of mass at the Quiapo church.
Dancers wearing colorful tight outfits lined up the driveway as the vehicle carrying Pacquiao breezed through traffic coming from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminal 2.
Pacquiao is set to hear mass in Quiapo later and afterward, drop by Malacanang for a courtesy call with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
He will be motoring around Manila and other places starting around noon time.
Source: sports.inquirer.net
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