Manny Pacquiao hasn’t officially retired from boxing, advisor insists

A person close to Pacquiao says the fighter has not yet officially hung up his gloves

Manny Pacquiao hasn’t officially hung up his gloves (Getty Images)

Manny Pacquiao has not yet officially retired despite the legendary Filipino quoted as saying that his “boxing career is already over.”

Pacquiao, who turns 43 in December, is a senator in his native Philippines and confirmed last week that he is running for president ahead of next May’s election.

It follows a unanimous decision loss to Yordenis Ugas in an August, which appeared to signal the end of a 26-year career.

But despite comments in an interview to to Filipina star Toni Gonzaga, the president of Pacquiao’s promotional company, Sean Gibbons, insists no decision has been made.

He told ESPN: “In the coming weeks, the senator will decide how he’s going to finish his professional boxing career. 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 also pointed out that his client has retired before, in 2016, only to make a comeback five months later against Jessie Vargas.

While it hasn’t officially been confirmed, the boxer has said his career is over. Pacquiao said in an interview with Toni Gonzaga: “It’s done because I’ve been in boxing for a long time and my family says that it is enough.

“I just continued [to fight] because I’m passionate about the sport.”