Has Manny Pacquiao retired?
The 42-year-old Filipino icon seemed to indicate conclusively on the Tony Talks podcast that he has fought for the last time, saying, “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.”
That would make sense given his age, a so-so performance in a unanimous-decision loss to Yordenis Ugas last month and the recent announcement that the senator has accepted his party’s nomination to run for president of the Philippines next year.
Everything seems to be pointing toward retirement.
However, MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons told Yahoo Sports that the eight-division titleholder hasn’t made a final decision on whether he’ll fight again.
“The Senator is a presidential candidate and has made no decision on boxing career yet,” Gibbons said. “He will in the next few weeks will make a final decision whether to have one more or retire.”
Also, Pacquiao, obviously disappointed with his performance against Ugas, had earlier expressed interest in a rematch.
Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) burst onto the international scene when he upset Lehlo Ledwaba by a sixth-round knockout to win a 122-pound title in his U.S. debut. Over the next two decades, he became an all-time great and arguably the most-beloved fighter of his era.
He might be remembered best for his series against the great Mexican trio of Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez – against whom he finished 6-2-1 – but also defeated Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley, Tim Bradley and Keith Thurman (when he was 40).
His biggest fight was his 2015 meeting with Floyd Mayweather, who won a unanimous decision to underscore the prevailing wisdom that Mayweather was the best of the era.
