Manny Pacquiao confirmed that he will retire from boxing after his fight with Timothy Bradley to focus on his political career. The Filipino boxer's final match will be on April 9.
In a press conference in Los Angeles, California, Pacquiao explained that he personally chose Bradley to be his final opponent. This will be the third time that Pacquiao and Bradley will face each other in the ring.
Pacquiao believed that they will be able to give fans a match they will never forget. He added that Bradley's recent fight with Brandon Rios only proved that he has improved a lot since their last fight in 2014, where Pacquiao won via unanimous decision.
According to Pep, Pacquiao has decided to quit boxing to focus on his political career. He shared that he first went into the sport, thinking that it will help his family financially. This time, Pacquiao held that he wanted to use his influence to help his countrymen.
His longtime promoter Bob Arum, however, refused to believe that Pacquiao will be hanging his boxing gloves after his fight with Bradley. He pointed out that other boxers had given similar statements only to come back to the ring a few years late. Arum speculated that after winning the election, Pacquiao will eventually change his mind and step back into the ring.
"I could see Senator Manny Pacquiao defending his world title. I don't think this will be his last fight," he said.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Los Angeles Times, Bradley remains confident of his chances against Pacquiao. With help from his new trainer Teddy Atlas, Bradley believed that he will definitely win this time around. He added that they had already went through Pacquiao's fight strategy and thought of ways on how they could exploit his weakness and make it to his advantage.
In his past fights, Bradley explained that he went into the ring blindly following his trainers. He said that, this time around, he is back to being the calm, smart and very experienced fighter that he has always been.
"This fight is not about Pacquiao. I don't fear Pacquiao. It's about me - me being the best I can be, being sharp, in tune, fundamentally sound, confident," Bradley explained.
