Manny Pacquiao To Retire After Final Fight In 2016

It looks as if 2016 will mark the end of an illustrious career that has lasted 20 plus years for former eight division world champion Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao. Pacquiao is currently recovering from shoulder surgery after going into his last fight, a unanimous decision loss to Floyd Mayweather last May, with a lingering injury.

The Philippino will fight one more time in 2016 and then hang up his gloves for good according to his promoter Bob Arum. Arum recently spoke with ESPN, noting that Pacquiao is looking to take a higher role as a politician in the Philippines:

“I’m telling you what he told me last week at dinner in New York. We talked very seriously, and he said, ‘Bob, hopefully, by the middle of May I will have been elected senator in the Philippines, and at that point I cannot engage in boxing because I need to focus on the senate and I have to be in attendance.’ Manny told me this fight on April 9 will be his last fight.”

Apparently the role Pacquiao is looking to take will require quite a bit of work which wouldn’t be able to be juggled with boxing. Arum also added that “PacMan” will need to be strong mentally, something that cannot be risked fighting:

“There are hundreds of congressmen, but if he wins the senate seat he has to be there to do the work. They do the real work in the senate in the Philippines, not just make a lot of bulls— speeches like they do in the congress. It’s a real job, and if Manny is serious about wanting to be president, these six years in the senate would be like an audition and for him to show his people that he really is a serious politician. Manny told me this would be his last fight, and I’m not sad about it, because he’s going on to a political career which will require a lot of mental acuity, so you don’t want him to stay in boxing too long. If he stays in boxing a little too long his mental faculties might be somewhat impaired.”

As one of the generation’s best boxers, Pacquiao owns multiple wins over Juan Manuel Marquez, as well as victories over the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosely, and Antonio Margarito.

Who should he face in his last fight?