Manus free to make decision regarding career

Instead, he wants to clean up his bad-boy image, turn pro and challenge the legendary Filipino Manny Pacquiao.

The 31-year-old from Ratchaburi shot to prominence when he thrashed fancied Cuban Yudel Johnson Cedeno on his way to capturing the 64kg-light welterweight boxing gold medal at the 2004 Athens Games.

The victory propelled Manus to superstar status when he returned to Thailand, but he soon became equally well-known for blowing up some Bt18 million (around US$600,000) earned after his Olympic victory on card games, soccer betting, playboy antics and a lifest1yle of excessive partying.

Things seemingly got better when he stepped back into the ring and still made a successful comeback when he was crowned the Asian Games champion in 2006, only to be knocked out early at the world meet a year later in Chicago.

Manus instilled in Thai fans the belief that he was a gold-medal hopeful for the 2008 Olympics. After regaining his fans’ trust, he reformed himself by spending time in a Buddhist monastery. He was sent to train intensively in Cuba without money or credit cards. He proved himself to be a fighter who can work miracles if he puts his mind to it. He picked up a silver at the Beijing Olympic Games after a disappointing loss to Dominican Manuel Felix Diaz in the final clash. In the process, Manus became the first Thai to win medals in more than one Olympics. 

He was eyeing another success in the Olympics in London later this year. To everyone’s surprise, a chubby Manus won a national selection trial to participate in the 75kg division at next month’s Asian Olympic Boxing Qualification Tournament in Astana, Kazakhstan.

It made several people uncomfortable. The carping began. Critics said age has taken its toll on Manus and excessive drinking of alcohol has also made him overweight. They said his movements were slow in the ring and he gets easily fatigued after heavy training.

Amidst criticism from several quarters, he left the national camp and announced he was quitting. Things turned sour when he ignored the Amateur Boxing Association of Thailand’s final request to report to the camp on March 12.

The walk-out has raised many eyebrows in Thailand. Critics said that Manus decided to call it a day because he could not stand Abat’s strict adherence to standardised guidelines regarding “what was and what was not acceptable” while athletes attend a national camp.

Manus cleared the air to the Thai fans and was quoted in several local newspapers and agencies, including Reuters, as saying: “I decided to stop the pursuit of my Olympic dreams because I cannot fight without spirit. When an athlete does not have the heart, he’ll be depressed and there will be no success. That’s why I decided to quit amateur boxing and whether right or wrong, it’s my decision. I’ve quit everything. I just want a normal life.”

To be frank, any athlete has the freedom to make any decision about his career. Should he decide to give up, we should let him go. It’s a waste of time crying over the spilt milk. Manus has not yet won a berth to contest his third Olympics and whether Thailand, having won three London tickets so far, will get an additional place remains a doubt at the Kazakhstan meet.

More importantly, the Olympics are kicking-off on July 27 and Abat still has enough time to field a “physically stronger, smarter and more disciplined boxer” instead of the rebellious hero.

Manus’s next target is reportedly the Pac-Man and he wants someone to set that up for him. Anyway, the road ahead is not paved with roses and a great many things Manus has done in life have gone wrong. So what could he possibly have left to prove? Unless he stands out from others and makes himself a success as a pro, he cannot prove anything. How he fares in a real-life career will be eagerly watched not just by Thailand but by boxing fans around the world from now on.