Following his unanimous decision victory over Timothy Bradley in April of this year for their third match, Filipino boxing icon decided to retire from the sport of boxing again.
He has also thrown his hat then in the Philippine election by running for a seat in the Philippine Senate. He was elected as one of the 12 Senators of the Republic during the May 9 national elections.
He was also a Congressman representing his southern province of Saranggani for two three-year terms prior to being elected as Senator.
Pacquiao only assumed the post of Senator officially on June 30. He promised then that he would focus on the legislation of laws that would help his poor countrymen and empower them to be able to become productive members of society.
However, just two weeks after assuming the post of Senator, Manny Pacquiao announced that he is coming out of retirement again to fight either late in October or early November this year.
While the Filipino boxing icon did renege on his promise to the Filipino people, most of his countrymen were already expecting him to do such because Pacquiao just loves the sport of boxing. In fact, Filipinos want him to fight in the ring rather than see him rub elbows with politicians in the Senate.
His coming out of retirement is no longer a big deal among Filipinos but a welcome development because he can bring more pride to the country in the ring than making valedictories in the august halls of the Senate.
No interference with Senate duties
It was actually Top Rank promoter Bob Arum who confirmed that Pacquiao has agreed to come out of retirement and is willing to fight again in Las Vegas either late in October or early November.
Arum said that Manny wants to come back but he wants that his fight would not interfere with his Senate duties.
The promoter said that they have initially set an October 15 fight date for Pacquiao at Mandalay Bay Casino and Resort in Las Vegas but Pacman begged off because he will be busy in the Senate formulating the 2017 Philippine budget and doing the votes by then, reports RT.
Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz also confirmed what Arum said by saying that Manny’s primary concern and obligation is to fulfill his duties as Senator.
Koncz also said that Manny just misses boxing and also misses training for a fight. He also misses being in the gym. The adviser added that Pacquiao considers his training for a fight as a stress reliever.
He said that whenever Manny is in training, his mood always changes to good and he is like in a happy land. So what he and Bob are doing is to find a suitable date for Manny to fight again.
It will be the second coming out of retirement for Pacquiao in two years. After he lost to Floyd Mayweather in 2015, he also quit the sport only to return again early this year to fight Timothy Bradley. After his victory with Bradley, he decided to retire again.
Possible opponents for the Pacman
There is still no confirmed opponent for Manny Pacquiao at this time but Bob Arum is looking at any from the unbeaten trio of Keith Thurman, Terence Crawford, and Danny Garcia.
Danny Garcia, the WBC welterweight titleholder, has reportedly turned down a substantial money offer to face a returning Manny Pacquiao this fall.
But Keith “One Time” Thurman, the WBA welterweight champion, has already come out to say that he is willing to fight the Pacman, reports Bad Left Hook.
Thurman is fresh from a June 25 impressive victory over Shawn Porter. He holds a record of 27 wins with no loss, 22 of them coming by knockouts.
It’s all about money. Obviously, Pacquiao doesn’t make too much money as a congressman. Even a highly corrupted politician in Philippine never makes as much money as a prime boxer in the US.