The night an aging Manny Pacquiao truly impressed me

As I listened to an emotional Manny Pacquiao announce his retirement from boxing a few days ago, I flashed on moments from his tremendous career.

Pacquiao rose to the top of the mountain after starting with nothing.

He collected 62 wins, numerous titles, victories over Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar De la Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, and Timothy Bradley. But for all his achievements, there’s one win that for me, will always stand out.

I’ve been asking Pacquiao to retire since his loss to Jeff Horn. Not many fans remember that one. Pacquiao does. The fight was a grueling affair, especially for a part-time fighter, and Senator. Horn was awarded the decision, even though Pacquiao knocked him from pillar to post in round nine.

Pacquiao,38, at the time, looked ragged and tired in the later rounds. His body language suggested, at least to me, that he wished he was back home in the Philippines, working to help the poor. Retire Manny, I said. Fat chance. He took off a year and knocked out a fading Lucas Mattyasse. Banked a WBA title. Didn’t mean a lot but, he looked pretty good. Retire, I said.

Nope.

He was back six months later against malcontent Adrian Broner. He won that one as well. Now what?

Keith Thurman.

Another titleholder, undefeated, holds victories over Danny Garcia and Shawn Porter. His victory over the much younger Thurman to me was nothing short of phenomenal. Pacquiao beat two difficult opponents that night in Sin City--Thurman, ten years younger, and “Father Time.”

You know what’s coming next. I asked him to retire. Again. A perfect way to go out. On top again. Nothing to prove. But this is from me, an outsider looking in. Pacquiao loves boxing as much as he loves life. Giving it up was out of the question. Until he was ready.

Pacquaio signed up to fight undefeated welterweight kingpin Errol Spence a few months ago. Spence is acknowledged by most as the best welterweight in his division. The 42-year-old Pacquiao wanted to challenge himself. He looked good in training - less than two weeks before the fight, Spence, was deemed unable to fight due to a partially torn retina.

Enter scrappy and underrated Yordenis Ugas. Pacquiao seemed unconcerned, but many, including this writer, figured that Ugas could defeat Pacquiao. I did something I rarely do. I put money on Ugas to win.

He did, and it wasn’t pretty.

Even a prime Pacquiao would have had issues with the awkward Cuban. He started pretty well, but his lack of movement was puzzling.

Once upon a time, he moved his head side-to-side. That Saturday night, it sat there as if it was on an invisible platter, ready to be served up. It’s called aging.

Ugas found that head consistently with his right. Pacquiao, with disadvantages in height and reach, tried to make something happen. A few years ago, he would have made up for his shortcomings with speed.

Not this time.

Try as he might, as he probed, he got popped. His desire and competitiveness kept Pacquiao in the fight.

It wasn’t nearly enough. Ugas won the fight by wide decision. Pacquiao was defeated and dejected. He fell into the trap of wanting more and not knowing it was too late, until....it was.

No matter. That loss won’t hurt the legacy of Manny Pacquiao.

I’ll remember many things about him, but that night in Las Vegas, at 40, when he knocked down Keith Thurman, will always make me smile.

Astounding.

What a story.