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Mike CoppingerESPN
Manny Pacquiao has not made a decision on his future despite comments from the boxer suggesting he has retired, Sean Gibbons, the president of Pacquiao’s promotional company, told ESPN on Monday.
The future Hall of Famer, during an interview with Filipina star Toni Gonzaga on Sunday, said his “boxing career is already over.”
“It’s done because I’ve been in boxing for a long time and my family says that it is enough,” Pacquiao said in Tagalog, though the YouTube sit-down provided English subtitles. “I just continued [to fight] because I’m passionate about the sport.”
Following his unanimous decision loss to Yordenis Ugas in an August welterweight title fight, Pacquiao hinted at retirement. On Sunday, the Filipino senator announced he’s running for president ahead of May’s election.
The all-time great boxer — he turns 43 in December — was competing for the first time since a victory over Keith Thurman in July 2019. One of the greatest boxers of all time, Pacquiao is the only fighter in history to capture titles in eight different weight classes.
“In the coming weeks, the senator will decide how he’s going to finish his professional boxing career,” Gibbons said. “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 pointed out that Pacquiao announced he was retired to campaign for the senate after beating Timothy Bradley in 2016, only to return to the ring seven months later with a victory over Jessie Vargas. The retirement lasted all of five months, with Pacquiao announcing that comeback in September.
Pacquiao was set to face Errol Spence Jr. last month, but Ugas stepped in on 11 days notice after Spence suffered a detached retina. Pacquiao’s contract with Spence included a rematch clause in the event he lost, sources told ESPN, but the deal with Ugas did not.