By Edward Chaykovsky
Eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao won a twelve round unanimous decision last Saturday night when he battled Timothy Bradley for the third time at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
At the post-fight press conference the Filipino superstar announced his retirement from sport of boxing.
The fighter is running for a senate seat in the Philippines and wants to become a full-time politician back home.
The boxer admits that his family applied a lot of pressure on him to walk away from the sport.
He says the time is right to retire from the sport, but also left the door open for a potential return to the ring in the near future.
The 37-year-old fighter refuses to confirm the probability of never fighting again. He's not exactly sure how his mind will react in retirement and whether or not he'll be overwhelmed by the itch to fight again.
“Yes, I am retired as of now. I want to be with my family and to serve my people,” Pacquiao told reporters. “[About coming back], I don’t want to say something that you know we don’t know yet. I don’t know what the feeling is going to be like when I’m retired,” Pacquiao told reporters.
“I already made a promise to my family that I will retire. I will devote my time to them and other things. I would like to thank my fellow Filipinos for being there for me, who cheered and prayed for me, every time I fight,” he added. “I think this is the right time [to retire].”
