Manny Pacquiao: Why Pacquiao Will Retire After Marquez Bout

The world is at Manny Pacquiao's fingertips and he knows it.  He is obviously already one of boxing's best pound-for-pound fighters ever.  He has won world titles in a record eight different weight divisions and has done so in dominant fashion.

Now he will wrap up the trilogy with Juan Manuel Marquez, who has given him some of the best competition he has faced.  Already having fought to a draw in 2004, Pacquiao last saw Marquez in the ring while winning by a controversial split decision.  Many thought Marquez had battled Pacquiao to a victory, despite being knocked down by Pac-Man.

They already fought at featherweight and super featherweight and will now up the ante and fight in the welterweight division to give the fight just a little more excitement. 

If Pacquiao wins this fight decisively, which is certainly his game plan, he will have erased one of the big gray areas in his career.  He has won with such grace over his career and done things no other fighters have ever done, but it will be fitting for him to finally say he flat out beat Marquez.

Even if he loses to Marquez, which not many people believe he will, he doesn't have much more to accomplish in the sport besides fighting the ever elusive Floyd Mayweather.  There are talks about Mayweather-Pacquiao in May 2012, but many believe Mayweather is just looking for headlines during Pacquiao's big moment here.

If a Mayweather bout never comes to fruition, there really isn't a glaring next step in Pacquiao's boxing career.  What would he do next, try to fight in the middleweight division?  He has already stretched his 5'6" frame to win a title in the super welterweight division over Antonio Margarito, but how much further can he go in terms of winning in new weight classes?

Besides boxing Pacquiao has shown interest in many other fields, none more impressive than his passion for politics.  He was voted into the Philippine House of Representatives for the Sarangani province in 2010.  There have already been questions about his availability as a congressman while preparing for this fight.  Those serious responsibilities, which are very important to him, may factor into a decision to retire.

He is also a military reservist in the Philippine Army as a sergeant major.  He also has shown an interest in acting, already having done a couple movies in the Philippine movie industry.  He has wanted to crack into the industry in Hollywood recently as well.

For a guy as diverse as Manny Pacquiao, just how many more times will he want to go out and take a beating for a living?  Sure, he is making enormous amounts of money in boxing and a Mayweather fight would offer money that no one could possibly turn down.

Without that obvious next step of a Mayweather bout though, there may not be another match that would keep Pacquiao interested in boxing anymore.  At age 32 and already a member of his homelands congress, he has proved he has a lot to offer the world besides in the ring.  It's hard to tell where he may go after this fight, but a retirement could be very possible for such an accomplished fighter with a full plate.