Malacañang on Thursday paid tribute to Sen. Manny Pacquiao’s boxing feat, following his retirement from what he called the “greatest sport in the world” to focus on a run for the presidency.
Pacquiao, 42, on Wednesday closed the curtain on a 26-year boxing career that earned him world titles in 8 different divisions, which to this day remains unmatched.
“Nagpapasalamat tayo kay (we thank) Senator Pacquiao because he has honored the country with his many successes and we share and rejoice of his triumphs as well as in his defeats,” said Palace spokesman Harry Roque.
“We are proud that he is a Filipino, and he has also made us very proud to be Filipinos,” Roque said of Pacquiao in a press briefing.
Pacquiao, whose fast footwork and blistering speed of punches made him one of the top offensive fighters in the sport’s history, said he was at peace with his retirement, adding it was the turn of other Filipino boxers to shine.
“As I hang up my boxing gloves, I would like to thank the whole world especially the Filipino people for supporting Manny Pacquiao,” he said, fighting back tears.
He is widely rated as among the best pound-for-pound fighters in history, better than Muhammad Ali, veteran promoter Bob Arum said in 2010.
In August, the father of 5 lost a WBA welterweight world title match against Cuban Yordenis Ugas, leaving his fight record at 62 wins, including 39 knockouts, 8 losses and 2 draws.
With his 6-year term as a senator ending next year, Pacquiao this month presented himself as the best person to succeed President Rodrigo Duterte and lead the country of 109 million people.
While no one questions his prowess inside the ring, many political observers doubt his ability to fight entrenched poverty and social problems and handle the economic fallout and job losses from one of Asia’s worst and longest-running COVID-19 epidemics.
“He is adored as a boxer, but even those who adore him as a boxer have second thoughts about his ability to govern,” said Temario Rivera, a retired academic, citing Pacquiao’s patchy Senate attendance.
Pacquiao has since 2010 divided his time between politics and big-money bouts mostly in the United States.
He promised to fight government corruption when he launched his presidential bid, remarks that further damaged his relationship with Duterte, whose bloody war on drugs and campaign to reintroduce the death penalty Pacquiao had wholeheartedly endorsed as a staunch loyalist.
Richard Heydarian, an author, columnist and academic who specializes in politics, said Pacquiao’s retirement meant he will now give 100 percent to his political ambitions.
A new opinion poll showed Pacquiao rising a notch to fourth spot, cornering 12 percent of the 2,400 people surveyed, from 8 percent previously.
— With a report from Reuters
