Former Pinoy champion Denver Cuello says shoulder injury might force Manny Pacquiao to retire

If someone can relate to Manny Pacquiao's shoulder injury, it has to be his compatriot, world rated boxer Denver Cuello of Iloilo.

Cuello, 28, also injured his shoulder and tore his rotator cuff in his lone world title attempt against Xiong Zhao Zhong of China in 2013.

Cuello was a huge favorite in the fight but fighting with just one hand proved too much of a handicap as he lost the contest by majority decision. Cuello knows all too well how serious tearing a rotator cuff is and says that now might be the best time for the Filipino ring icon to call it a day.

"This might cause Manny Pacquiao to retire," Cuello told GMA News Online.

"The recovery is not easy, it will take long. Other than that, he already has money so it may be best to already contemplate retirement."

Cuello was sidelined for more than a year while nursing his shoulder injury. But unlike Cuello, Pacquiao no longer has youth on his side so a prolonged recovery may not be farfetched.

"Even if the doctors says it will heal in six months, you'll never know because that's Manny's body. And he's already 36," says Cuello.

"When he returns he would also need a tuneup fight to see where his shoulder is at. By then he's probably 37 years old already."

As a fighter and a former champion himself, Cuello knows firsthand the warrior spirit that burns deep within a boxer. He feels Pacquiao has nothing left to prove, and with one more fight remaining in Floyd Mayweather's Showtime contract, "Pacman" also has an unlikely chance to get a rematch with the brash American.

"Manny Pacquiao has made us proud. I think now is the time to enjoy the fruits of his labor and seriously contemplate retirement." - RAF, GMA News