By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Long-time trainer and best friend Buboy Fernandez thinks Manny Pacquiao still has a lot to offer inside the ring.
After the defeat against WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas, Fernandez frankly spoke about what he thinks Pacquiao’s future as a boxer should be.
Retirement never came out of his mouth.
Fernandez thinks that boxing’s only eight-division world champion deserves a more fitting ending to his storied career, not end with a loss against Ugas.
“You don’t let a legendary career end just like that. Losing to someone who’s hardly known. If that’s the case, all your hard work would go for naught. Your being world champion is gone,” shared Fernandez.
Sticking through thick and thin since Pacquiao’s early days, Fernandez stood by him and would always reiterate how grateful he was with the journey they both took getting to this stage.
May it be a local or international fight for Pacman, Fernandez always manned Pacquiao’s corner and was one of the few people who believed in the true potential of the living legend since the beginning.
However, Fernandez said that it will still be up to Pacquiao whether he will hang up his gloves or go for one last ride and cement his legacy as one of the best boxers in the history of the sport.
“But still it will be up to the senator to decide. No amount of money could approximate my gratitude to this person,” added Fernandez.
