Pacquiao talks about continuing boxing after Bradley

Mar

When in NYC two months ago to hype his April 9 fight against Tim Bradley, Congressman Manny Pacquiao told media that he was feeling a bit sentimental, because this would be the last time he’d be doing this.

Last call for the fighting politician, he told us, not because he felt he was near the end point of competition athletically, but because multi tasking as he’d been doing since he ran for Congress in 2010 would now be impossible.

The General Santos City man is now vying for a senate seat, one of the 12 of 24 seats available. Being a Senator is not something one can take on and see as one ball to juggle. Serving in the Congress, being in one of the 292 seats, allows one to, say, accept the task of two prizefights a year. Senate, not so much….

“It’s sad to say, this is my last fight,” Pacquiao told press in New York Jan. 21. “Sad to say after this, I’m going to retire and hang up my gloves.”

But on Monday, the tune had changed. Pacman wasn’t talking bidding adieu, he said he was considering fighting on.

The LA Times’ Lance Pugmire asked him about retirement from the ring. “We do not know. It’s hard to say if I’m finished. I can’t say I don’t want to come back. My decision will come after this fight. I’ll go back to the Philippines and ÔÇª [might] have a new job to do and be focused on,” he said.

Or he might not…

Is he feeling less upbeat about his chance of winning a slot May 9? A December opinion poll by Pulse Asia saw 37% of respondents say they’d vote Pacman, while the latest poll saw him slide to 32.7%.

Boxing is transitioning, mightily, with a gaping hole to be filled with the absence of the pugilistic artiste Floyd Mayweather Jr. still present as a yawning chasm. The continued presence of Pacquiao would mean the continuing presence of his stability as an attraction–more or less depending on how he looks versus Bradley–but also would put off an arguably needed reset period, where new talent leaps to the forefront.

Readers, please weigh in. Will Pacquiao fight on? Or do you believe he will hang up the gloves after April 9, and do his combat purely in the political arena? Talk to us!