The curtains will come down on another boxing icon’s career, as Manny Pacquiao has confirmed that the fight against Timothy Bradley on April 9th of this year will be his last. The sport’s first and only eight-division world champion reiterated that the desire to focus on his political career is the reason behind the decision.
Pacquiao is the second biggest name to exit the sport within the space of a year, after bad boy Floyd Mayweather’s retirement in November 2015. Pacquiao lost a unanimous decision to Mayweather in May last year. Mayweather would choose Andre Berto as his final opponent, beating him by unanimous decision to retire unbeaten with 49 notches on his belt.
This match with Timothy Bradley will complete a trilogy of fights between the two, and is the decider as each have a win against the other. The first match, in 2012, went to Bradley via a contentious split decision and drew a lot of flak, prompting a WBO review that saw the fight clearly in Pacquiao’s favour.
But a reversal of the decision would not be possible as the WBO doesn’t not have the authority to do so and a rematch would take place in 2014. “Pac-man” would leave no doubt this time, earning a Unanimous Decision win over Bradley and capturing the WBO Welterweight title.
Bob Arum, founder and CEO of Top Rank ,the promotion that manages Manny Pacquiao and a host of other prominent fighters, sent tongues wagging when he said that he did not believe Pacquiao would walk away from it all after this fight.
Pacquiao, however, cleared the air, saying, “I am retiring from boxing to concentrate on my political career. My fight with Timothy Bradley will be my last.” The 37-year-old also shot down rumours that he would put off his retirement in the hopes of a rematch with Floyd Mayweather.
Said Pacquiao, “I did not say anything like that. Nobody interviewed me about that. I will retire after my April 9 fight”, according to SkySports.
Pacquiao is currently in his second term as congressman for the province of Sarangani, his wife’s hometown. He won a landslide upset against the well-established Chiongban clan in the 2010 elections in Sarangani and was unopposed in his second term. He has been candid about his Presidential ambitions in his native country.
