Boxing News: Manny Pacquiao Hints At Retirement, May Focus On Public Service

Manny Pacquiao was understandably disappointed at the result of his latest fight, dropping a unanimous decision to WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas.

Pacquiao admitted that while he is passionate about the sport, a reason why he is still fighting at 42 years old. But he cannot discount the fact that his body may be telling him something different, the Associated Press reported.

“This sport is my passion,” Pacquiao said. “That’s why I’m still here fighting at the age of 42. I’m enjoying it, but sometimes you have to think about the response of your body. My mind, my heart, it’s 100%. But my legs were cramping.”

As far as conditioning, there are a lot of factors seen. One is that Pacquiao is coming off a two-year layoff, and the pandemic has limited him from doing his normal methods of training.

Decorated amateur boxer Cam F. Awesome discussed how vital age could be in the career of a prizefighter when he appeared on the Sports Bytes PH podcast.

“Actually that is something against Manny Pacquiao because father age is still undefeated. So could this be the time that Pacquiao declines a little bit? I mean, he hasn’t shown any signs of it, but it will happen eventually,” Awesome stated days prior to the Pacquiao vs. Ugas bout.

For now, nothing is official. Pacquiao plans to relax first and then ponder on his next move–both in the ring and politics.

“In my heart, I want to continue to fight,” Pacquiao said. “But the thing is, I also have to consider my body. I’ve put it through a lot of things. Especially back in my country, there’s a lot of things that I need to accomplish to help people. I want to be an inspiration to the Philippine people inside and outside the ring.”

An official statement from Pacquiao should come out in the coming weeks.

As far as his political plans are concerned, he revealed in the post-fight interview on Saturday that he would make an official announcement in September.