Manny matters

Manny Pacquiao and his American representative Sean Gibbons are meeting this week to decide what’s on the horizon for the Filipino eight-division legend.

But in all likelihood, Pacquiao’s return to the ring after the heartbreaking draw against Mario Barrios over the weekend in Las Vegas will likely happen in December, just before his 47th birthday.

Gibbons, moments after landing at LAX on Wednesday night (Thursday afternoon in Manila), bared that they are looking at just two dates: Late-October or early or second week of December.

As of this time, it doesn’t look as if the late-October date is feasible since that would mean Pacquiao will have to begin training camp this week.

The other reason is that Pacquiao is presiding over the preparations for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Thrilla in Manila in the country with three world title fights on tap.

Four days after what Gibbons swears was a robbery committed against Pacquiao, the influential Las Vegas-based dealmaker remains utterly disappointed.

“It is still sickening. I feel bad for him,” Gibbons said.

“He was prevented from making history. It would have been huge not just for boxing for the world of sports.”

Pacquiao, 46, was dealt a big blow when the scorecards of the three judges at ringside at the MGM Grand ruled the fight a majority draw decision.

The huge underdog, Pacquiao, his team, most of the 13k-plus at the venue, his legions of fans, were all stunned when ring announcer extraordinaire Jimmy Lennon read the scores.

Having been inactive almost the last four years, Pacquiao stood toe-to-toe with Barrios, 30, and even hurt him a few times while also taking hits from the Texas native.

But in the end, the judges — Max DeLuca, Steve Weisfeld and Tim Cheatham — turned a blind eye on Pacquiao’s bold bid and the enormous age difference that favored Barrios.

Still, Pacquiao pulled off a shocker of a performance not just by going the distance but coming tantalizingly close to bagging the World Boxing Council welterweight championship.

Seen as easy pickings for the six-foot Barrios, Pacquiao instead proved that Father Time isn’t totally invincible after all.

“Manny came up with a huge serving of humble pie. Barrios’ trainer Bob Santos thought this was the win that would put him in the Hall of Fame,” Gibbons said.

“People thought this was going to be like (Muhammad) Ali versus (Larry) Holmes. That they would see him getting badly beaten. But they were all proven wrong.”

“Manny was closer to 47 than he is at 46 years old when this fight took place. He should have been given more credit because he is 46 and he was fighting a guy who is 30.”

“They didn’t see and acknowledge that,” he added.

If the December date pushes through, the opponent could be Rolly Romero, the World Boxing Association champion at 147 pounds.

A victory right there will help erase all the hurt and pain caused by the Barrios bout.