Manny Pacquiao Feels Family Pressure To Retire From Boxing

By Steve Kim

After what has been a Hall-of-Fame career spanning 65 professional bouts (where he amassed a record of 57-6-2, 38 KO's) over 20 years, eight division former world champion Manny Pacquiao could be embarking on his final fight when he faces Tim Bradley for the third time on April 9th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Coming off his huge payday versus Floyd Mayweather and facing the possibility of retiring, does 'the Pac Man' still have the same mental focus he has had in the past and train with the same vigor he once did?

"Yes, I still have that motivation and I feel that," he said to reporters on Tuesday at the Pacquiao-Bradley press conference at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Pacquiao has been inactive since the Mayweather bout, which took place on May 2nd of last year. He suffered a shoulder injury during the fight and underwent surgery a few days later, and rehab period prevented a fall return.

There was a time when boxing was his only focus, nowadays he's part time prize-fighter, who moonlights as a politician in the Philippines. Soon that will be his sole focus.

But he swears he still has the same passion for the sport.

"Yes, I still feel that, the hunger, the motivation. I'm still motivated, it just happens that I needed to decide to focus on other ventures,"said the 37-year old southpaw, who has designs of being the president of the Philippines.

It turns out that Pacquiao was also getting internal pressure to walk away from boxing.

"My family, they want me to retire, so it's good," he explained. "It's good, they've been asking me, telling me to retire even before the Mayweather fight."

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.