By Chris Williams: WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao says that his trainer Freddie Roach will tell him when it’s time for him to hang up his gloves when he starts to show signs of fading. Until then, Pacquiao says he’ll keep fighting as long as he enjoys it.

Pacquiao told RingTV “I have no time limit on when I will end my boxing career. When it is no longer enjoyable and when my skills begin to decline, my trainer Freddie Roach has promised to tell me it is time to end it.”

I have a couple of thoughts about that. One, I don’t like the idea of Pacquiao following Roach’s retirement advice because it gives the trainer too much power. Pacquiao needs to think for himself, and do what he wants to do. Why follow instructions from Roach for such an important matter like retirement. I’d tune Roach out if he talked retirement and send him packing. Pacquiao’s skills already are starting to decline. Why do you think Pacquiao isn’t jumping around from side to side anymore? He’s almost become a plodder, and while he’s still beating the Top Rank guys that his promoter Bob Arum is feeding him, Pacquiao is starting to look worse with each fight. I thought he should have lost his last fight against Juan Manuel Marquez, but somehow lucked out with two of the judges seeing him as the winner. But Pacquiao won’t get the benefit of the doubt every time. It can’t go on like this forever. Eventually, the judges will give it to the other fighter if Pacquiao keeps looking terrible like in his last fight.

But as far Roach goes, my advice is for Pacquiao to ignore the guy if he starts talking about retirement. If he uses the “R” word then he needs to be canned on the spot. I think Pacquiao should do it anyway because it’s time already for him to fly on his own and find out whether he can improve under a new trainer with the time he has left in the sport.