Bob Arum, the promoter for Manny Pacquiao, announced that the Filipino fighter will have one more fight before he retires. Pacquiao will fight on Saturday, April 9th against an opponent not yet named.
ESPN reported that Arum had dinner with Pacquiao in New York in which he told Arum that he plans to run for senator in the Philippines. Assuming that Pacquiao is elected, he will devote all of his time to politics.
Pacquiao, 36, is coming off a loss to Floyd Mayweather this past May. The long-awaited fight was a business success setting PPV and gate records. However, most of the boxing public criticized the actual fight.
Rumored opponents for Pacquiao’s April fight at this point are Amir Khan, Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley, Jr. and Terrence Crawford.
Then there is this news about a possible return from the retired Floyd Mayweather.
Im told that Floyd wants to be the first #boxing event at the new MGM/AEG building( which opens April 9th)…
— Steve Kim (@steveucnlive) October 26, 2015
Payout Perspective:
Will Pacquiao’s last fight be this April? We shall see. You might say that Pacquiao brought back interest into the lighter weight divisions. He definitely ignited a cultural fan base of Filipino followers that revere him. Certainly, his story and the way he went about his business in the ring will be missed. The retirement announcement is probably best for Pacquiao’s other aspirations as well as his health.
It is really going to be interesting to see what the future of boxing holds. Mayweather is gone, PAC has 1 fight left. GGG can’t break 100 buys. They look like the sport looks like it is pretty desperate for a new star.