Now with a bigger role in Philippine legislation, Top Rank Promotion’s head honcho Bob Arum believes that eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao (58-6-2) should focus on being a senator and stay away from the squared circle for the next six years.
“He shouldn’t be in a ring, that’s it,” Arum told BoxingScene.com. “For the next six years he should be a senator. He has an obligation to the Philippine people to be their senator. I don’t think he should fool around fighting.”
Pacquiao, who is all but locked to win one of the 12 senate seats in the 2016 Philippine National Elections, made his swansong last April 10 against rival Timothy Bradley Jr. The 37 year old was able to cap his career with a dominant unanimous decision win to cop the vacant WBO International and vacant Lineal welterweight titles.
Nonito Donaire with Anthony Settoul during their bout in Macau
With this, Arum shutdown the rumor that a rematch between two of the top marquee boxing stars in the last decade, Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr, will ever happen.
“The problem is Mayweather probably wants to come back and win a 50th fight,” Arum added. “Well who is he going to fight that will put money in his pockets? So he looks at Manny and says ‘well that’s a fight that I can make some money on.'”
“Well okay, that’s fine. Come over to Manila, fight Manny in Manila and maybe he’ll get some time off from his senatorial duties,” Arum quipped.
Cover photo courtesy of HBO Boxing
