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Philippines, 26 Nov 2024 |
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SPORTS SHORTS 228: MANNY PACQUIAO HAS RETIRED FROM BOXING IN 2016 AND CAME BACK AS A SENATOR By Maloney L. Samaco PhilBoxing.com Wed, 29 Sep 2021  Retirement is nothing new to Manny Pacquiao, as he retired from boxing when he ran as senator for the 2016 elections. He was in the Magic 12 of senatorial preference surveys that time. * * * On October 5, 2015, Pacquiao formally declared that he was running for senator under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), the party of then Vice President Jejomar Binay. On May 19, 2016, Pacquiao was formally elected as a senator as he garnered over 16 million votes, finishing 7th among 12 new members of the Senate. * * * While as a senatorial candidate, Pacquiao fought Timothy Bradley in a rubber match on April 9, 2016, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada for the WBO international welterweight title. According to Pacquiao, this will be his last fight as a professional boxer. * * * Pacquiao knocked Bradley down twice and outclassed him throughout the twelve rounds of the fight, winning by unanimous decision with all three judges scoring identically the bout in Manny's favor, 116-110. * * * "As of now, I am retired," Pacquiao said after the fight. "I'm going to go home and think about it. I want to be with my family. I want to serve the people." * * * But the retirement was short lived. On June 23, 2016, it was reported that Pacquiao would return to boxing ring later that year. * * * In an interview with Boxing Scene that time, Top Rank president Bob Arum said, "Well we gotta see. If he will fight this year, then he will fight next year. We are thinking about him fighting in October if he wants to fight." * * * Arum, who was Pacquiao's promoter, said he was negotiating for the Filipino boxing icon's foe. "Once I get the opponent that I am working on we are working on opponents and once I get that, I will fly over to the Philippines and he will see if his schedule in the senate allows him to train for a fight and participate in a fight." * * * "I know he wants to continue fighting but the impediment is how labor intensive his work as a Filipino senator is and he is not going to really know that for another week or so. He was just sworn in as a senator yesterday," added Arum. * * * Arum reserved the Mandalay Bay for October 15, 2016 just in case Pacquiao decides to continue fighting as told to Yahoo! Sports. He is not assured if his fighter now turned senator can still box and legislate at the same time. * * * "I'm not sure Manny is going to return, but I believe he wants to return. The question is, can he return and yet fulfill his duties as a senator in the Philippines? I don't think even he knows that answer yet, because he's just taken office," said the Hall of Fame promoter. * * * Per BoxingScene report, Arum said that Pacquiao has even discussed this with the Senate leadership the possibility of taking a leave of absence to train for a fight. * * * "He is going to fight. I don't know what the date is. He is working with the President of the Philippines Senate for an appropriate date where he can leave the Philippines for two or three weeks to prepare for the fight," announced Arum. * * * On July 13, 2016, Pacquiao replied to the rumors that he plans to take a leave of absence from the Senate for an upcoming bout as stated by Arum. In an official statement, Pacquiao denied such gossips and assured his constituents that his priority is to discharge his duties as a senator of the Republic. * * * "There is no truth to media reports that I'm planning to take a leave from my senate duties just to fight again atop the ring. I want to make it clear my priority is my legislative works. * * * "My next fight has not yet been discussed. Should there be any, I'll make sure it will not interfere with my senate duties. When I ran for senator last May 9 elections, I made a promise to be present in all sessions. I owe it to the people. * * * "If ever I decide to fight again, rest assured, it will happen when congress is on recess so there's no need for me to go on leave. The entire training will be done in the Philippines to ensure I can attend sessions even while on training camp. * * "Boxing is my only means of livelihood to support my family and to help those who are in need. Politics, to me, is a vocation not a means to eke out a living. I want to maintain that belief. I want to keep my dignity intact while in public service May God continue to guide and bless all our endeavors," stated Pacquiao in Rappler. * * * On July 18, Arum confirmed over LA Times that Pacquiao was scheduled to fight on November 5 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. * * * Senate President Franklin Drilon expressed his support for Pacquiao's reported plan to make a comeback to boxing, confirming that the newly elected senator had asked his permission to fight again as reported by Digital Journal. * * * Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz said, "Manny's primary concern and obligation is to fulfill his senatorial duties. But he just misses boxing. He misses the training. He misses being in the gym. You can see when he trains it's like a stress reliever for him." * * * "His mood changes. It's like he's in happy land. So I am working with Bob and Manny is working closely with the senate president to make sure the dates are okay. We're doing this properly," Koncz told Washington Post. * * * Pacquiao made the confirmation that the fight is on. "I have agreed to a Nov. 5 fight with reigning WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas. Boxing is my passion. I miss what I'd been doing inside the gym and atop the ring. * * * My entire training camp will be held here in the Philippines so I can attend to my legislative works. This is my campaign promise and I'm determined to keep it," Pacquiao said. * * * He also told Boxing Scene that he has to fight again to earn a living. "Boxing is my main source of income. I can't rely on my salary as public official. I'm helping the family of my wife and my own family, as well. Many people also come to me to ask for help and I just couldn't ignore them," explained Pacquiao. * * * Pacquiao defeated Vargas in a lopsided unanimous decision to win the WBO welterweight title for the third time. The scorecards were 118–109, 118–109 and 114–113. * * * Pacquiao went on to fight Jeff Horn, Lucas Matthysse, Adrien Broner, Keith Thurman and Yordenis Ugas. He lost to Horn by a controversial unanimous decision. But he scored his first knockout in over 8 years by stopping Matthysse in the 7th round. * * * Pacquiao lost in a shocking upset to Ugas on August 14 in Las Vegas, Nevada by a convincing unanimous decision. After his loss to the Cuban, Pacquiao said that he will make an official announcement on what he will do with his career and his decision for the 2022 elections. * * * MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons commented on Pacquiao's retirement after throwing his hat into the presidential derby. The senator told actress Toni Gonzaga on her YouTube program Toni Talks. "It's over because I've been in boxing for a long time and my family says that it is enough." * * * "In the coming weeks, the senator will decide how he's going to finish his professional boxing career," Gibbons told 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," Gibbons added. * * * In a meeting in Cebu City with supporters Pacquiao declared he is officially out of boxing. "I will no longer fight. I still have the moves but it’s enough. I’ve been in boxing for a long time already,” he said as quoted by Freeman Cebu. * * * Has Pacquiao totally retired from active prizefighting? If he becomes president that surely is a done deal. What if Lady Luck frowns on the eight-division world champion, will he fight one more time? Your guess is good as mine. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.  |
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