Boy, ‘san ka?’ were the first words Manny Pacquiao said after regaining consciousness inside the ring, according to childhood friend and trainer Buboy Fernandez. (inset) AP.
LAS VEGAS – The bond be­tween Manny Pacquiao and Buboy Fernandez is so strong it was his childhood friend whom the boxing superstar first looked for the moment he regained conscious­ness after being knocked out cold inside the ring on Saturday night Dec. 9,(Sunday, Manila time).

MANILA, Philippines - Return­ing to the Philippines on Wednes­day (Dec. 12) morning after a devastating loss to Juan Manuel Marquez, Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao announced that he was not yet ready to abandon his boxing career. “May mga susunod pang laban. Hindi natin sila tatantanan (There will be other fights. We won’t let them go),” Pacquiao said in an interview over dzBb radio. He was explaining his arrival statement at the airport, where he said: “We will rise again.”

SAN FRANCISCO, Cal. (PNA via PCSO) -- The saga of the long, nine-year- old Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez rivalry con­tinues. This is because, the eight- division world boxing cham­pion’s sixth round knockout loss to the Mexican icon meant nothing as far the question as to which of the two top pound-for-pound fighters was not settled, ac­cording to Pacquiao’s chief trainer Freddie Roach. “The doubts that punctu­ated the two boxers’ previ­ous fights remain,” Roach told People’s Journal in an interview Tuesday at his Wild Card Gym where Pacquiao had pitched camp prior to his fourth fight with Marquez held last Saturday at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

As usual, there are pros and cons whether Manny Pacquiao will now have to retire or not after his stun­ning sixth round defeat to Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez last Sunday in Las Vegas. The one punch has definitely changed the aura of one of the great­est boxers on his era and there are  suggestions that Pacquiao should now hang up his gloves for good, but there are those who wish that the Gensan bomber should just take a rest first then continue fighting since he still has enough fire in his belly.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -– If it is true that “God punished” Manny Pacquiao supposedly for convert­ing from Roman Catholic to “born again” Christian, then God is not just; He is cruel and He plays favor­ites. Since most of us believe that God is pure love in its most supreme form, He could not have guided Juan Manuel Marquez’s lethal right to inflict harm on a faithful follower. God has laid down from all eternity the law which governs all things, like light from the sun; but He will never change the economy of world boxing for Marquez who is a Roman Catholic.

Nonito Donaire knows that Jorge Arce is a livewire oppo­nent despite insinuations that the Mexican is way past his prime, something the Filipino-American puncher believes will make their world super-bantamweight title clash Saturday night an explosive one at the Toyota Center. ”I know that Jorge is a very dangerous opponent but I know what I have to do to win,” said Donaire on Tuesday afternoon when Top Rank held an open me­dia workout.

On November 15, 2003, Larry Merchant called a fight that “will shake up the boxing world”. That fight was Manny Pacquiao versus Marco Antonio Barrera. This past weekend, another Manny Pacquiao fight shook up the boxing world, but this time, Pacquiao was on the wrong end. After dominating rounds 1 and 2, the Filipino boxer was floored in the third round by a solid over­hand right from Juan Manuel Marquez that was set up by a feint to the body.

MANILA/LOS ANGELES -- “I’m ready!” Thus declared Manny Pacquiao in reference to his preparedness to battle Juan Manuel Marquez for the fourth time come December 8 in Las Vegas, Nevada. “It’s still some three weeks left before we face each other again, but pakiramdam ko handang-handa na ang katawan ko para sa laban,” Pacquiao said last week in a telephone interview following another hard grind on the mitts with chief trainer Freddie Roach at the latter’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.