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A22
SPORTSMonday 11 April 2016
Pacquiao says he’s retiring, but it may not last
TIM DAHLBERG
AP Boxing Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Like any
good entertainer, Man-
ny Pacquiao was good
enough against Timothy
Bradley to leave his fans
wanting a little more.
Whether they get it de-
pends on how serious Pac-
quiao is about walking
away from the sport he
loves and the spotlight that
will be hard to leave be-
hind.
Even the fighter himself
doesn’t seem totally con-
vinced that this is the end.
“I can still give a good
fight,” Pacquiao said. “I’m
still OK.”
Bradley will certainly at-
test to that, after being
dropped by Pacquiao and
then dropping a unani-
mous 12-round decision
Saturday night in their wel-
terweight showdown at
the MGM Grand arena.
The third fight between
the two men showed evi-
dence that even at the
age of 37, Pacquiao still
resembles the fighter who
thrilled so many with his
romp to titles in eight differ-
ent weight classes.
“He’s the best fighter I ever
fought,” Bradley said. “I
fought the best I could
tonight. It just seemed like
Manny was always in the
right spot, always a step
ahead of me.”
Hayman, 37, beats Boonen to win Paris-Roubaix race
ROUBAIX, France (AP)
— Matthew Hayman of
Australia, 37, out-sprinted
his rivals to win the presti-
gious Paris-Roubaix race
— known as the Queen of
Classics — for the biggest
win of his career.
Hayman, whose previous
career highlight was the
gold medal in the Com-
monwealth Games road
race in 2006, beat four-time
champion Tom Boonen of
Belgium in a dash to the
line Sunday.
Hayman is the second Aus-
tralian to win the famed
race over cobblestones
after Stuart O’Grady in
2007. He did so in his 15th
attempt, having twice fin-
ished in the top 10.
“This is my favorite race, the
Manny Pacquiao, of the Philippines, celebrates after defeating Timothy Bradley in the WBO wel-
terweight title boxing bout Saturday, April 9, 2016, in Las Vegas.
What Pacquiao says was
likely his last fight wasn’t
his best, though it had mo-
ments where he seemed
to still be at his best. He put formance against Floyd
Bradley down twice, the
second with a left hand in
the ninth round that flashed
some of the power that
used to be a signature of
his fights.
When the scores were to-
taled — all three judges
race I had always dreamed
of,” Hayman said. “I saved
my legs and remained safe
all day. I could tell in the
finale that the other guys
were also pretty tired.”
The win was even more un-
expected as he has hardly
raced since breaking his
arm five weeks ago at the
Het Nieuwsblad race.
“It’s just pure disbelief, I
can’t believe it,” Hayman
said. “I only resumed (rac-
ing) in Spain last week.”
Britain’s Ian Stannard fin-
ished third ahead of Bel-
gium’s Sep Vanmarcke.
Norwegian Edvald Boasson
Hagen placed fifth.
Boonen tried to pull away
4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from
the end but was caught.
The 35-year-old Boonen still
had it 116-110 — Pacquiao
had a win in his first fight
since he disappointed his
fans with a lackluster per-
Mayweather Jr. last May. If
this was the end, it ended
with his hand held high in
a victory that took some
of the sting out of his loss in “He hasn’t missed a beat. I
boxing’s richest fight ever.
In a way, though, Pac-
quiao may have looked
looked set for a fifth win as
he led Hayman and Van-
marcke coming into the
velodrome.
“Even in the finale, I rode to
win it. I worked very hard,”
Boonen said. “In the fi-
nal sprint I did everything I
could.”
French sprinter Arnaud De-
mare pulled out Thursday
following a crash last week-
end during the 100th edi-
tion of the Tour of Flanders,
won by world champion
Peter Sagan of Slovakia.
Demare, who recovered
from a crash to win the
prestigious Milan-San Remo
classic last month, injured
the right side of his body in
the crash and did not feel
fit enough to take part.
Just after the halfway
gins to consider that, he
has a different fight just
ahead he is intent on win-
Associated Press ning. Already a congress-
man in the Philippines,
too good. Despite the urg- he is running for Senate in
ing of his family to retire, next month’s elections, a
the lure of even more big position that would take
money fights ahead might far more of his time and
be too much to resist. energy. BHe talks of help-
“When I see Manny Pac- ing people, spending time
quiao like that, this is the with his family, and serv-
best Manny Pacquiao,” ing his country. But box-
trainer Freddie Roach said. ing is the only thing he has
known since first lacing up
would like to see him fight the gloves at the age of 12,
again.” and giving it up will be dif-
Before Pacquiao even be- ficult. That’s especially true
after proving to everyone
— including himself — that
he can still fight at the high-
est level.
“He was strong, man,”
Bradley said. “Strong and
fast.”
Pacquiao said in the days
leading up to the fight
that he felt rejuvenated
after getting his shoulder
repaired and taking off
nearly a year from the ring.
He looked it against Brad-
ley, shaking off some early
ring rust to dominate the
rubber match of the trilogy
between the two fighters.
In a way, Pacquiao said, it
seemed a lot like when he
came to the United States
to pair up with Roach and
become one of the big-
gest — and most unlikely —
pay-per-view attractions
ever.q
Matthew Hayman of Australia, Oreca Team, right, wins the 114th
edition of the Paris-Roubaix cycling classic.
Associated Press
stage of the 257.5-kilome- pre-race favorites such as
ter (159.7-mile) route from Fabian Cancellara and
Compiegne to Roubaix, a Alexander Kristoff, who sus-
crash split the peloton and tained two punctures dur-
caught Sagan and other ing the race.q