There appears to be some confusion as to whether Manny Pacquiao will step inside a boxing ring again or not.
The current Senator recently announced his intention to run for President of the Philippines. This comes after a unanimous decision loss against Yordenis Ugas back in August. Looking to be with family, Pacquiao recently spoke with Toni Gonzaga about his future in the sport. Boxing since 1995, Pacquiao discussed spending more time with family. Many are taking his quotes as a retirement speech.
“My boxing career is already over,” Pacquiao said (h/t New York Post). “It’s done because I’ve been boxing for a long time and my family says that it is enough. I just continued because I’m passionate about this sport. I will just support other boxers for us to have a champion again.”
The 42-year-old has won titles in eight different weight classes. Facing and beating the likes of Shane Mosley, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Timothy Bradley, and Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao has seen and done it all. Before facing Ugas, Pacquiao beat Keith Thurman for the WBA Welterweight Title.
Pacquiao was supposed to face Errol Spence Jr. for the WBC and IBF Welterweight Titles, but the latter had to withdraw after suffering an injury to his eye. He then faced Ugas, who used the jab to his advantage.
One would think the above quote was a definitive answer to the question everyone has been asking. However, Sean Gibbons, the President of Pacquiao's promotional company, brushed off the statement.
"In the coming weeks, the senator will decide how he's going to finish his professional boxing career," Gibbons told ESPN. "After the fight and recently, he's discussed retiring [or] maybe one more [fight]. He's just talking out loud about different situations.
"Until you see it officially come out on his Twitter or Instagram, he isn't retired. Once you see it on a platform like that, it's official. Anything else is just talk about what his thoughts are in the moment. It's coming from him, but it's hearsay."
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