MANNY PACQUIAO has officially retired from boxing to focus on his presidential campaign.
The Filipino icon was beaten in August by Yordenis Ugas in a fight which marked his return after two years out.
Pacquiao then admitted he was considering retirement and in an interview soon after the eight-division champion said his career was ‘over’.
Now according to ONE News PH, PacMan has officially hung up his gloves with a statement expected to be released.
Pacquiao all-but confirmed his time in the ring after 72 fights had come to and end in a sit down with Toni Talks.
He said: “My boxing career? My boxing career is already over.
“It’s done because I’ve been in boxing for a long time and my family says that it is enough.
“I just continued [to box] because I’m passionate about this sport. I will just support other boxers for us to have a champion again.”
But following after, his advisor Sean Gibbons, also president of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, said no final decision had been made.
Gibbons told ESPN: “In the coming weeks, the senator will decide how he’s going to finish his professional boxing career.
“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.”
But, TV5 senior correspondent Marie Ann Los Banos reported that Pacquiao has retired and confirmation is set to follow.
Pacquiao has been a senator in his homeland since 2016 and was recently nominated by a faction of the ruling PDP-Laban party to run for president.
He said: “I’m a fighter and will always be a fighter, inside and outside of the ring.
“All my life, I haven’t backed down from any fight. Nothing is impossible if it’s ordained by God.”
He leaves the ring with an unprecedented record of winning titles from flyweight all the way to light-middleweight.
Along the way, he beat legends such as Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales, Oscar de La Hoya and Miguel Cotto among several others.
But his biggest fight, against long-time rival Floyd Mayweather in 2015, ended in a points defeat which sold a US record 4.6 million pay-per-views.
Pacquiao bounced back from the loss and twice went on to reign as welterweight champion.
Wins over Lucas Matthysse, Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman left the southpaw unbeaten in three years.
He was due to face undefeated unified champion Errol Spence Jr in August until the American pulled out with an injured eye.
Cuban Ugas, who was meant to feature on the undercard, filled in as a replacement and scored an upset on points.
Talk of a rematch had taken place, but ultimately Pacquiao has opted to put his efforts into a presidential run.
He will leave the sport as one of the most celebrated fighters of all time, who helped bring attention to the lighter weight classes.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
