According to promoter Bob Arum, eight-weight world title holder Pacquiao will step away from the ring to concentrate on his run for Senator in his home country following a 20-year stint lacing up his gloves as a professional.
“Manny told me this fight on April 9 will be his last fight,” Arum told ESPN.
“I’m telling you what he told me last week at dinner in New York. We talked very seriously and he said, ‘Bob, hopefully, by the middle of May I will have been elected senator in the Philippines and at that point I cannot engage in boxing because I need to focus on the senate and I have to be in attendance.’
“There are hundreds of congressmen but if he wins the senate seat he has to be there to do the work.”
Pacquiao, 36, last fought when out-pointed by pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr on May 2 in the most lucrative fight of all time. Mayweather-Pacquiao generated over $400 million in revenue, although rumours the pair could rematch have been brushed off in the last few weeks.
Top Rank’s Carl Moretti informed WBN recently that only five opponents remain in the frame to face Pacquiao in what will now be the Congressman’s final outing on April 9.
Former foes Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley are joined on the shortlist by current world champions Kell Brook, Terence Crawford and ex-training partner Amir Khan.
