Las Vegas - Arabstoday
Pacquiao was brutally knocked out in the sixth round by Mexican Marquez
Philippine boxer Manny Pacquiao has been told to hang up his gloves after a stunning sixth round knockout defeat at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday night.
The 33-year old slumped to the floor towards the end of the round, running on to a vicious right hand, in a thrilling encounter at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao\'s wife Jinkee was in tears at ringside and later asked her husband to call it a day: \"When you see your husband get hurt, you cannot even sleep. You know the answer to that (question of if I want him to retire). He knows what I am asking him.\"
Pacquiao\'s mother Dionisia made a similar appeal and was shocked at the way her son was left unconscious. \"I have long asked you son, it is time to retire because you started boxing at such a young age. I asked God to tell my son to stop,\" she said.
At home in the Philippines, Pacquiao is a congressman and also hosts his own television game show. Boxing experts have questioned his focus on the game after successive defeats. Others are blaming the defeat on a bad year for trainer Freddie Roach who saw his fighters Amir Khan and Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. also lose fights in 2012.
Pacquiao is yet to make a decision on his future but hinted at his family playing an important part, \"I don\'t want to hurt my family and the people who support them.\"