Manny Pacquiao Says Boxing Career Is Over, Adviser Denies He Has Retired
Manny Pacquiao called time on his boxing career. Or so we think.
The legendary eight-division boxing champion announced he would run for President of the Philippines on Sunday.
He followed that up by confirming his boxing career was over following his unanimous decision defeat to Yordenis Ugas last month.
“My boxing career is over,” Pacquiao told Filipina star Toni Gonzaga in an interview. “I’ve been boxing for a long time and my family would always tell me it’s time to stop. I was a kid selling bread before.
“If I told you I’d be world champion and known all over the world? You’d say that seems impossible.”
While the boxing world celebrated Pacquiao and his legacy following those words, Sean Gibbons, president of Pacquiao’s promotional company, says nothing is final yet.
“In the coming weeks, the senator will decide how he’s going to finish his professional boxing career,” Gibbons said Monday (via 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.”
If it does end up being final in the near future, Pacquiao will certainly go down as one of the greatest fighters to ever step foot in the ring.
