The Filipino superstar, who has been embroiled in a media storm recently over anti-gay remarks, has plans in place to fully concentrate on his political duties but says a comeback may never be far away.
“It’s hard to say right now,” Pacquiao told AFP. “I made my decision already that after this fight I retire. But I am not saying that, you know, boxing is closed to me. You never know.
He continued: “I don’t feel different compared to when I was 27, 25.
“I am still the same because I discipline myself. Even if I don’t have a fight and I am not in training, I always exercise every day.”
Pacquiao’s comments were almost certainly aimed at a possible return with Floyd Mayweather Jr. at some point should the pound for pound king make his own u-turn on hanging up the gloves.
Mayweather has been ‘happily’ out of action for seven months already, although continues to tease fans with tongue-in-cheek comments on a potential clash with new WBC welterweight champion Danny Garcia.
In all likeliness, any Mayweather return would see Pacquiao as the hot favourite to land any such comeback due to the sheer magnitude of the money involved.
Last May, Mayweather and Pacquiao smashed pay-per-view records with a super-fight that made over $400 million in revenue.