Manny Pacquiao is running for a Senate seat in the Philippines and this is the reason why he is expected to retire after his April fight with Tim Bradley. But will he really hang up the gloves?
The retirement seems conditional and is dependent on him winning a Senate seat. Pacquiao already won a congressional seat but he has been criticized for lack of attendance. That is probably the reason why he has declared retirement if he takes a higher office.
Bob Arum has a different viewpoint. He spoke to Gareth Davies of British publication The Telegraph (h/t Philstar).
"He [Pacquiao] says this is his last fight. You can take that with a grain of salt, though. I think he believes it's going to be his last fight. But I'm not saying it's his last fight. This isn't my first rodeo," said Arum.
Arum draws from his experience to make his pronouncements.
"I've had a lot of fighters tell me this is their last fight and six months later they're back in the ring. I had a fighter who retired at a press conference and half an hour later he unretired," Arum bared. "I have an instinct with all of them. These top fighters have a hard time giving it up, and if Manny's performance is an outstanding one against Bradley, he'll want to continue."
He did not have to look far for an example. Pacquiao's nemesis has also treaded the same path.
"How many times has Floyd Mayweather retired? It sounds great when they say they want to retire. And it's not just the money. They miss the limelight. There's nothing like the adrenalin and all the attention you get and all the press that surrounds you. Then you go into the ring and all the eyes are on you," explained Arum.
Will Pacquiao win the election? Is he even focused on the Bradley fight? He's already in LA training in Wild Card Gym. He's confident of winning a seat and his fight serves as his campaign-with daily news coverage on his training. It might have been a good strategic move to schedule the fight at this time and if he has a resounding victory over Bradley, that may push him to win the election.
However, if Pacquiao scores an impressive victory, even a knockout, shouldn't he return to fighting instead?
That's what Boxing News 24 suggested, as they mentioned that declaring an upcoming fight as the last fight of any fighter does not necessarily attract more pay per view buys. They note that there are several young Top Rank fighters that Arum may want to match against Pacquiao, Terence Crawford at the top of that list.