FILIPINO BOXING legend and senator Manny Pacquiao has officially announced his retirement from the ring, but his fight to win the presidency is just beginning.
In a recorded
speech posted September on his Facebook page, Pacquiao said: “I would like to
thank the whole world, especially the Filipino people, for supporting Manny
Pacquiao. Goodbye boxing. It is difficult for me to accept that my time as a
boxer is over. Today I am announcing my retirement.”
“Thank you for
changing my life, when my family was desperate, you gave us hope, you gave me
the chance to fight my way out of poverty," Pacquiao said in the video.
“Because of you, I was able to inspire people all over the world. Because of
you I have been given the courage to change more lives. I will never forget
what I have done and accomplished in my life. I just heard the final bell. The
boxing is over.”
One woman, who followed Pacquiao’s career, watched the announcement on a television news channel and told the Mindanao Examiner that she wept after hearing the senator’s statement.
“I can’t help
myself. Manny is a good guy with a big heart who helps the poor and now he is
retiring. I had goosebumps. I wish him the best,” she said.
Pacquiao, an eight-division
world champion, is running for the presidency in next year’s polls against
veteran politicians Senator Ping Lacson, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and President
Duterte’s former aide-turned-senator Bong Go, and other probable candidates,
including the Filipino leader’s daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Carpio and
Bongbong Marcos, the son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
The 42-year old
Pacquaio was a former ally of Duterte, but he broke off with the president
following a power struggle inside the ruling PDP-Laban which is now fragmented.
Pacquiao still
maintains a sizable following and politicians in his native South have thrown
their support at him. He is also the second richest senator and is worth at
least P3.1 billion. (Mindanao Examiner)
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