Well, that was quick: The un-retirement of Manny Pacquiao
By: Matthew N. Becher
On April 9th, earlier this year, Manny Pacquiao had his hand raised, for what was supposed to be the last time in a Hall of Fame caliber career, after beating Timothy Bradley for the second time in three fights. Pacquiao, who is 37 years old, announced his retirement after the fight and explained that he would be focusing on his political career and the upcoming election, where he would be running for a Senatorial seat in his native Philippines. Pacquiao summed it up by saying “I started boxing to help my family, my mother….I want to end my boxing career now, because my desire in my heart is to help my people, my country.”
Well, it seems that less than 3 months after his last fight, Pacquiao is ready to get back in the ring. According to his promoter, Bob Arum, who told The Guardian news outlet on Tuesday, the newly elected senator would like to fight again, “He now has given us the go-ahead to shop for a venue and opponent and see if we can do it on particular dates….that doesn’t interfere with his senatorial responsibilities and his ability to train.”, Arum told the Guardian.
Talks of a fight with former 4 division champion Adrian “the problem” Broner were floating around, but it seems that the rumors of Broner pricing himself out of the fight are true, according to Arum, “Broner wants more than Pacquiao…Obviously he doesn’t want the fight or just doesn’t understand the economics of this business.” This seems very ridiculous that Broner, who has never come close to making the same kind of money that Pacquiao ever has for a single fight, would ask for more, but it does sound like something that Adrien Broner would actually do.
From what we are getting from Arum is that the date will have to coincide with Pacquiao being able to take a leave of absence from his Senator duties. He will need to train mainly in the Philippines to be close to his political job and need to leave “for three weeks before the fight to complete training in the United States”.
Who and where are the big questions now. Also, Why? What does Pacquiao have left to prove? One thing is for certain though, he is still one of the top fighters in the world, based on his last performance against Bradley. He would be a heavy matchup for any fighter in the 140-147 pound divisions. With boxing looking for a new star, maybe it will just have to wait, and take back an old one for now.