Manny Pacquiao: Pac-Man Running out of Options After Shocking Defeat

After Manny Pacquiao lost via a controversial split decision in Timothy Bradley's favor on Saturday, there's nothing left for Pacquiao to gain in his career.

The defeat to Bradley likely means Pacquiao will never get a chance to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. because Mayweather knows he can call himself the top boxer in the world now after Pac-Man's "loss" to a lesser fighter.

And, really, what does Pacquiao have left to prove except to fight against Mayweather?

That sets up a potentially career-ending result for the eight-division world champion.

He will likely get a rematch with Bradley in November, but even if he wins, Mayweather can still point to Pacquiao's "loss" against Bradley as a sign that the great Filipino is past his prime (even if we all know that's not the case).

In his long, illustrious career, Pacquiao has fought such challengers as Marco Antonio Barrera (twice), Erik Morales (three times), Juan Manuel Marquez (three times), Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Shane Mosley.

He has four losses (including one that was controversial) to show for it. That's how dominant he's been in 60 career fights.

Pacquiao will generally be considered one of the greatest of all time when he finally hangs up his gloves. He honestly doesn't have to fight Bradley again to preserve his legacy, especially given the circumstances. That gives him nowhere to go and he's already hinted at retiring soon.

You wonder how much longer he'll stay in the ring.

The Pacquiao-Bradley decision has far-reaching consequences in that respect. It propels one of the generation's greatest fighters closer to retirement, and makes it likely that we will never see Pac-Man and Mayweather go toe-to-toe.

Follow me on Twitter. We can talk about boxing together.