Manny Pacquiao may retire from boxing in 2016 in order to pursue a run for the Philippines senate.
“There’s a big possibility that I will run for Senator. UNA asked me to join its slate and I am grateful they picked me,” Pacquiao said in an interview with radio station DZMM, referring to the United Nationalist Alliance political party.
Pacquiao has a fight lined up for November 22 against unbeaten Chris Algieri, and he’s been rumored to possibly--finally--fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May 2015. Even if he doesn’t he'll likely face Amir Khan or someone else around that time.
If Pacquiao does retire in 2016, that would likely mean that he'll only have one more fight after those two fights.
The career of “Pacman” was on a downward slide after two consecutive defeats in 2012, losing to Timothy Bradley and Juan Miguel Marquez.
However, he took time off and trained hard. He beat Bradley in a rematch, and then beat Brandon Rios earlier this year.
Pacquiao has been involved in other fields for some time. He recently announced that he would join the basketball league in the Philippines as a coach who also plays.
He’s also a representative of the Srangani province, although he’s notably been on the list of most absent congressmen.
Last April, Pacquiao told Gerry Ramos of Spin.ph that he was “80 percent sure” of running for a Senate seat in 2016.