By Yannis Mihanos: After his lackluster performance against Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0) on May 2nd, Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) appeared to seriously injure his right shoulder and had to undergo surgery days after the fight.

Fighters often fight injured or get injured while fighting. This is something that in the world of boxing and sports is common. But when the injuries become excuses for their losses then fighters begin to lose credibility.

Reading Pacquiao’s latest medical news it seems that his recovery is noticeable and he might be back in the gym sooner than expected.

There is talk that he might be fighting Amir Khan. That will be a good fight for the fans. Khan has terrific hand speed but also has defensive flaws, he often forgets fight plan and gets badly hurt. Then also blames the coaches. Khan got hurt many times by Chris Algieri in their last fight.

If Bob Arum sets up this fight it may generate a lot of attention. Depending on the performance we will know if Pacquiao can rise again.

Great fighters stumble and fall but they get up because they must to. It’s a fact that losing so badly by Mayweather has let down many of his fans but especially himself.

There is always the possibility that Mayweather will agree to fight him again at some point in 2016 if the money and the conditions are right.

One thing for sure is that nobody wants to see an old and rusty Pacquiao back in the ring. Nobody wants to see Pacquiao becoming like Sergio Martinez.

Martinez in his ultimate fight against Miguel Cotto looked terribly weak and old, result of his many injuries. It was a wise choice to retire.

If Pacquiao is healthy and still has what it takes then he will beat Khan similar way that he beat Timothy Bradley.

A solid performance will be a statement for Mayweather who never fought Khan and of course for all other contenders in the welterweight division.

In my opinion Pacquiao doesn’t need to age in the ring.

He is now a world icon and very important for his country so he needs to move on as smoothly as possible to the next stage of his life.

People need to remember him for what he is and not what he once was. He may as well retire if he repeats the performance of last May.