MANILA, Philippines – If Manny Pacquiao is going to compete in the 2016 Olympics, the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) would like to hear from him by Friday, May 27.
The 37-year-old boxing legend, who retired from the sport after defeating Timothy Bradley Jr in April to focus on his political career, has left the door open to compete at the Rio Games after being personally offered a wild card entry by AIBA president Dr Ching-Kuo Wu.
ABAP Executive Director Ed Picson says the deadline is also the submission deadline for the Final Olympic Qualifier, which takes place June 16-25 in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Picson wants to keep the options open for the 8-division boxing champion.
?I asked him to make a decision before May 27 because that?s actually the deadline for the submission of entries for the qualifying event because I don?t know if he can still get a Tripartite pass because that gets decided on not just by the AIBA but also the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and ANOC (Association of National Olympic Committees),? said Picson.
?I don?t know if they?ve already met, those 3 groups. So if he doesn?t get a Tripartite pass, then that means he would have to qualify in the qualification event on June 16.?
Pacquiao, who had previously said “it would be my honor to represent the country in the Olympics,” expressed concern about whether his constituents would question his dedication to his new job after being proclaimed for a 6-year term in the Philippine Senate on Thursday. Pacquiao had been criticized for his frequent absences during his two terms in congress.
“People will say that this person was just elected and in August, he wants to compete in the Olympics,” Pacquiao said Thursday. “I need to ask if the Filipino people will allow me to participate in the Olympics.”
If Pacquiao does accept the offer, Pacquiao will have to move down to junior welterweight, which is at a 64 kilogram (140.8 pounds) weight limit, where one of the 5 wild card spots are available. Pacquiao has fought just once in that weight class – a second round knockout of Ricky Hatton in 2009 – but he has routinely weighed in under the 147 pound welterweight limit and trainer Freddie Roach has said he could even make lightweight if need be.
An email to AIBA requesting comment was not answered at the time of this article’s publication.
Different sport
The 2016 Olympics will be the first to allow professional boxers to compete, and the first to exclude headgear since it was introduced before the 1984 Olympics. Olympic bouts will be scored with the 10-point must system, just like in the professionals.
If seeded, Pacquiao could skip the first two preliminary rounds, then fight in the third and have to win 3 more fights to win gold. If not, Pacquiao could have to win 5, 3-round matches before making it to the gold medal round.
