Pacquiao accepts nomination, will run for president in the Philippines

Is Pacquiao’s fighting career now officially over?

Senator Manny Pacquiao has just informed the world on his social media accounts that he has accepted his party’s nomination and will officially run for presidency in his home country of The Philippines. This announcement ends years of speculation regarding Pacquiao’s aspirations in public office.

“I boldly accept the challenge of running as president of the Philippines,” Pacquiao wrote. “We need progress. We need to win against poverty. We need government to serve our people with integrity, compassion and transparency. The time is now. I am ready to rise to the challenge of leadership.”

Obviously this announcement will also spark even more conversation as whether or not we’ve seen Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) fight in the ring for the last time of his lengthy professional career. Pacquiao made his last appearance in August, dropping a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas, and later mentioning that it was possibly his last fight. After this news in particular, it would only seem to bolster the idea that Pacquiao will hang up the gloves for good, but one can never be too sure.