By Unus Alladin

Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao has tried to allay fears that he might risk brain damage as he prepares for his latest bout against unbeaten American Keith Thurman next month, saying “don’t worry about me”.

Veteran promoter Bob Arum warned over the weekend that the 40-year-old reigning WBA welterweight regular champion risks permanent injury if he fights the highly rated American, citing 41-year-old Zab Judah as an example of a fighter carrying on too long.

American Judah, a former two-division boxing champion, was stopped in the 11th round of a scheduled 12-round bout for the Nabo super lightweight title in Syracuse, New York by Cletus Seldin. He suffered bleeding in the brain as a consequence of the TKO defeat last Friday.

The 87-year-old Arum used to oversee most of the eight-division world champion’s signature fights as founder and CEO of promoters Top Rank, but he no longer works with the fighting senator from Saragani.

Arum said last weekend on the sidelines of the Tyson Fury-Tom Schwarz heavyweight fight in Las Vegas that “Zab Judah is a perfect example of how dangerous it is for a guy to continue fighting into his 40s”.

Arum said he was concerned for Pacquiao’s health too and advised him to quit.

“Look, I love Manny Pacquiao,” Arum said. “I have a whole history with Manny Pacquiao. I’m really rooting for Manny Pacquiao, but you’ve gotta realise that he’s 41 years of age [in December], and when a fighter has been around so long, passes his late 30s and goes into his 40s, he’s not gonna be as good as he was in his prime.

“I wish him the best and I hope he wins the fight but I am concerned, as I would be for any fighter, that when they get to a certain age that they probably should not be fighting any more.

“You know, I mean, the doctors will tell you that the cranium as you get older, thins out. So a guy that’s younger gets hit and the cranium absorbs the blow so that it doesn’t affect the brain matter. When they get older the cranium is thinner, and when you get hit it affects – that would be the worst thing in the world if Manny Pacquiao suffered brain damage at this point.”

However, Pacquiao, who faces 30-year-old Thurman (29-0-0, 22 KOs) on July 20 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, shrugged off the warning.

“God is always there to protect me and there’s nothing to worry about. God is good all the time,” Pacquiao, who has compiled a record of 61-7-2 with 39 KOs, told TheManila Times on Monday.

The eight-division world champion said on the last day of training in Manila over the weekend that a boxer’s safety depends on the fighter himself and how he prepares for a fight.

“I’m really thankful [for Arum’s advice] but it depends on the boxer on how he takes cares of his body and how he trains. The preparation should be enough even if he’s 40 years old or more, to do what he wants at the top of the ring,” said Pacquiao.

The Filipino will set up a training camp in the United States this week and will put the finishing touches to his conditioning at coach Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym in Los Angeles.

Article courtesy of Unus Alladin & The South China Morning Post

Photo courtesy of AFP