Pacquiao quits 'greatest sport in the world' to contest Philippines presidency

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FILE PHOTO: Philippine Senator and boxer Manny Pacquiao questions retired policeman Arturo Lascanas (not pictured) during a Senate inquiry on alleged extra judicial killings, in Manila, March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro/File Photo

 

MANILA (Reuters) - World boxing icon Manny Pacquiao announced his retirement from what he called the "greatest sport in the world" on Wednesday to focus on a run for the Philippines presidency, the biggest fight of his career.

 

In a 14-minute video posted on Facebook and Twitter, "Pacman", as he is known in the sport, thanked fans worldwide before closing the curtain on a 26-year boxing career that earned him world titles in eight different divisions, which to this day remains unmatched.

 

"I just heard the final bell. Boxing is over," said the 42-year-old Pacquiao, now a Philippines senator, drawing a flood of reactions from fans ranging from disbelief to gratitude.

 

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 decision, 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.

 

Pacquiao came from impoverished beginnings as a ship stowaway who started fighting on the streets as a boy, with prizes of $2 a fight. His net worth was $63 million last year, according to his Philippines statement of assets.

 

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.

 

George "Ferocious" Kambosos Jr, an Australian world lightweight champion and sparring partner of Pacquiao, expressed his gratitude in a gweet, saying: "Thank you for everything you did for my Career #Legend."

 

'GREATEST OF ALL TIME'

 

In August, the father of five lost a WBA welterweight world title match against Cuban Yordenis Ugas, leaving his fight record at 62 wins, including 39 knockouts, eight losses and two draws.

 

"Manny Pacquiao will always be the greatest boxer of all time," said Senate President Vicente Sotto.

 

With his six-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 Southeast Asian nation of 110 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 his 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 specialises in politics, said Pacquiao's retirement meant he will now give 100% to his political ambitions.

 

"I think Pacquiao is increasingly emerging as the candidate of the opposition," Heydarian said.

 

A new opinion poll showed Pacquiao rising a notch to fourth spot, cornering 12% of the 2,400 people surveyed, from 8% previously.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-09-13

 

(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Writing by Karen Lema; Editing by Ed Davies, Lincoln Feast, Martin Petty and Mark Heinrich)

[ASEAN NOW News]

This file photo, taken on Nov. 14, 2009, shows Manny Pacquiao celebrating after defeating Miguel Angel Cotto in Las Vegas, Nevada. —AFP

 

MANILA, Philippines — In a move that finally distances his boxing from his politics, Manny Pacquiao formally announced his retirement from the sport that lifted him from abject poverty to the pinnacle of fame and fortune.

 

sports.inquirer.net said the announcement, made via a 14-minute video posted on his Facebook page, was anticlimactic—a stark contrast to a career filled with dazzling highlights, scintillating triumphs and some of the most memorable knockouts in boxing history.

 

“I just heard the final bell; the boxing is over. Thank you,” said Pacquiao, doubling down on remarks he made during an interview with a popular celebrity, which were dismissed by several people, including some from his camp.

 

“It’s difficult for me to accept that my time as a boxer is over,” Pacquiao, 42, said. “Today, I am announcing my retirement. I never thought that this day would come."

 

“As I hang up my boxing gloves, I would like to thank the whole world, especially the Filipino people, for supporting Manny Pacquiao,” he added, fighting back tears.

 

The announcement still made headlines in both national and international news outlets even though he had repeatedly remarked about stepping away from boxing during a visit to Cebu City.

 

“His retirement isn’t news anymore. It came out already in Cebu where we came from today,” said a source from his camp.

 

The source said Pacquiao was currently in talks with Vice President Leni Robredo to firm up his political plans for 2022, when he is expected to run for the presidency after accepting the nomination of one faction of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan to be its standard-bearer.

 

Three options

 

“Moment of truth for both of them,” the source said, adding that everything was on the table in the ring icon’s talks with the Robredo camp.

 

Pacquiao, the source added, had said he currently has three options: Run for president, stay on as senator or retire from politics altogether.

 

His boxing retirement, however, is seen largely as a prelude to his presidential run.

 

And in stepping away from the fight scene, Pacquiao is keeping his legacy in the sport beyond the reach of his political career. Even Pacquiao’s boxing career ended in a whimper; he was outclassed by unheralded Cuban Yordenis Ugas during their fight last month in Las Vegas, Nevada, in a bout where he finally showed his age. But that loss did little to stain his sporting legacy.

 

Throughout his career—anchored on a style that defied the sport’s fundamentals—he captured 12 world titles in eight weight divisions, a feat that only he has achieved so far. But most important, he achieved mainstream popularity that resonated among Hollywood actors, National Basketball Association superstars and global leaders—thanks to his explosive, rapid-fire brand of boxing, low-key demeanor, and infectious personality.

 

The power-punching southpaw had racked up 62 wins, eight losses and two draws in a career spanning 26 years, beating such stars as Oscar de la Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton, Antonio Margarito, Erik Morales, and Shane Mosley.

 

Defeats to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez, who knocked Pacquiao out cold in the fourth and final installment of their memorable rivalry, also failed to diminish his star. In fact, it was his politics that did the most damage on his boxing ledger, drawing criticisms for his stance on issues like gender equality and the death penalty.

 

Sharp rebuke

 

Initially beyond reproach after putting the country in primetime screens globally, Pacquiao drew sharp rebuke after dismissing homosexuals and making jokes about crude methods of reimposing capital punishment.

 

“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 his patchy Senate attendance.

 

Pacquiao, during his announcement, paid tribute to countless people who helped him along the way, starting from his uncle Sandro Mejia, who introduced him to boxing when he was 16 in General Santos City.

 

He also honored trainer Buboy Fernandez, saying “nobody is as close to me as he is.”

 

But that closeness couldn’t dissuade Pacquiao from hanging his gloves. Fernandez had earlier hoped Pacquiao would end his career on a victorious note, rather than having people remembering his last fight as a loss.

 

“Look, people call him a legend,” Fernandez had earlier said. “Do you think it would be all right with me to see him being beaten by an almost unknown boxer? That his legendary career would end just like that?”

 

This isn’t the first time Pacquiao decided to quit, though.

 

He said he was through in 2012 after that knockout loss to Marquez. Four years later, while on a Senate campaign, he also said he had fought his last fight after beating Timothy Bradley.