LAS VEGAS - In the sad, swift aftermath of his 72nd professional fight, the walls around the T-Mobile Arena here in the famous Strip trembled with wild speculation.
"Is this it for the great Manny Pacquiao?"
On a much smaller scale, my cellphone was inundated with curious queries regarding the future and the direction his Hall-of-Fame career is now headed to after losing his title challenge against WBA welterweight champion Yerdonis Ugas of Cuba.
While it is indeed fair to conjecture about the future of a public figure like the fighting senator, it's a place I'd rather not go to.
This, to me, ranks right up there in the forbidden realm where you never ask about a woman's age or another man's weight.
Whether Manny decides to hang up those gloves for good or lace it up at least once more, that decision should be his alone, free from the noise of both the well-intentioned and the self-interested.
I'll be at peace either way.

If this was the final chapter, him going down in a bloody hail of blows, I'm fine with it. Sports heroes riding into the sunset in a blaze of glory is often an illusion, the stuff of Hollywood movies.
Real life is more unpleasant. Gory, unkind.
If Manny wants to alter this rude ending and script a more fitting send-off, I'm all-in on that, too. I believe we can all agree that he'es earned that right at least.
Either way, it pains me to realize that while the end is not yet here, it is almost certainly near.
'Pacquiao looked old'
Against Ugas, a fringe contender before the WBA gifted him with a belt, Manny did not have the fistic bravado that once allowed him to blast past bigger opponents on his way to conquering titles in eight divisions.
On Sunday, 117 days away from his 43rd birthday, he looked old. Not quite completely finished but evidently diminished.
His punches lacked the usual sting. The head and body movements were slow and sporadic. The accuracy was also off.
Making matters worse was the savvy Ugas used to weaponize a sharp, pointed jab that kept the Filipino legend constantly back on his heels, a disadvantage that required Manny to lunge to reach a target that was three-and-half inches taller and two inches longer.
After a nervous opening round, Ugas found his composure and steadily built the points to score a unanimous decision victory.
Cramping, says Manny, of the agony he endured..
I don't doubt that at all.
One of the joggers that roll routinely with Pacquiao told me that Manny circled the UNLV track 15 times on Thursday. In the punishing desert heat and dry air, the logic of that exercise two days before fight night not only escapes me.
It haunts me.
"A bit much," said an NBA doctor who is familiar with strength and conditioning. "I would have probably done less," said the source who requested anonymity.
Who knows if the Thursday run is related to Saturday's calf tightness. But it's clear that if Manny were 22 instead of 42, no one would give this issue a second thought.
Besides the welts and bruises, the most glaring scar Pacquiao picked up from his 12-round scuffle with Ugas was a corneal abrasion on his left eye.
Nothing serious, though. Nothing a seasoned ophthalmologist can't cure.
Which is good news. Because in the weeks ahead, Manny Pacquiao will need a good pair of eyes to see clearly the path he needs to take in both his sporting and political life.
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