Manny Pacquiao recently confirmed that he will leave the boxing world after the fight with Timothy Bradley Jr., shutting down rumors and reports that he will continue fighting.
The rubber match between Pacquiao and Bradley on April 9 at the MGM Grand is the Filipino boxing icon's swan song, since less than a month following the fight, the national election will be held in the Philippines.
Pacquiao, who is currently a congressman, is running for higher office and aims to become a senator. To fully focus on that endeavor, the former eight-division champion is bidding farewell to the sport he loved for two decades.
"I am retiring from boxing to concentrate on my political career. My fight with Timothy Bradley will be my last," Pacquiao said according to Sky Sports.
Recent reports that circulated state that Pacquiao is willing to suspend or get out of retirment for a rematch with rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. But Pacquiao denied those reports and said, "I did not say anything like that. Nobody interviewed me about that. I will retire after my April 9 fight."
The 37-year-old lost to Mayweather via unanimous decision last May in the highest-earning fight in the history of boxing.
According to Pacquiao and his camp, he fought that bout with a rotator cuff injury which affected the way he moved and his punching.
Four days after the fight, Pacquiao went through surgery and was recovering for months before the announcement that he will again face Bradley.
In the upcoming fight, Pacquiao is searching for his 58th win and also to capture Bradley's World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title.
If Pacquiao dominated the first two fights, many believe it will be harder for him this time around since Bradley is now under the tutelage of Teddy Atlas and has shown great improvement in his last fight versus Brandon Rios.
