Manny Pacquiao is planning to fight again later this year, just three months after announcing his retirement from boxing, ESPN reported on Tuesday.
Pacquiao, who said his win over Timothy Bradley in April was his final bout, would fight on Oct. 29 or Nov 5 in Las Vegas against a yet-to-be-determined opponent, his promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.
Since Pacquiao’s “farewell” bout three months ago, the 37-year-old former eight-division world boxing champion won a senate seat in the Philippines.
According to the report, Arum had placed a hold on the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas for a possible Pacquiao return on Oct 15 but the southpaw’s responsibilities forced a change of plans.
“Manny wants to come back. The problem is he can only come back if it doesn’t interfere with his senate duties,” Arum said in the report.
“We had penciled him in for Oct 15 at Mandalay Bay but we were informed that is no longer possible because he has to spend that week leading up to Oct 15 formulating the budget in the senate and doing the votes.
“So he has to be there for that week, so that knocks out that week. He can’t mess around with that. So now we’re looking at Oct 29 or Nov 5. The question is building availability because we want to do the fight in Las Vegas.”
‘MY PRIORITY IS MY LEGISLATIVE WORK”
In a press statement released on his Facebook page, Pacquiao denied media reports that he is planning to take a leave from his senate duties to fight again.
“I want to make it clear – my priority is my legislative work. My next fight has not yet been discussed. Should there be any, I’ll make sure it will not interfere with my senate duties.”
He added that if he decides to fight again it will be when Congress is on recess, and that he will train in the Philippines so he can attend sessions.
Pacquiao’s unanimous decision win over Bradley was his first fight in nearly a year after his loss to Floyd Mayweather. He had said he was bringing the curtain down on his career to concentrate on politics and his family.
Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz said in the report that the southpaw, while committed to politics, is happiest when he is in the ring.
“Manny’s primary concern and obligation is to fulfil his senatorial duties,” Koncz said.
“But he just misses (boxing). He misses the training. He misses being in the gym. You can see when he trains it’s like a stress reliever for him. His mood changes. It’s like he’s in happy land,” said Koncz.
“So I am working with Bob and Manny is working closely with the senate president to make sure the dates are OK. We’re doing this properly.”
