Manny Pacquiao Running for President of the Philippines

Manny Pacquiao is looking to become president of the Philippines. According to the Associated Press, the boxing legend will run for president next year. Pacquiao accepted the nomination of his PDP-Laba party at its national convention on Sunday. This comes almost a month after losing to Yordenis Ugas in a boxing match in Las Vegas. 

"I am a fighter, and I will always be a fighter inside and outside the ring," Pacquiao, 42, said in his speech.  "We need the government to serve our people with integrity, compassion and transparency." Pacquiao is the president of the FDP-Laban faction. Another faction of the same party nominated President Rodrigo Duterte to be vice president while Sen. Bong Go was the presidential nominee. 

Duterte has accepted the nomination, but Go has declined. Pacquiao has accused the administration of Durterte of making corruption worse in the country, Duterte can't run for a second six-year term for president as it's forbidden by the constitution. 

"In my whole life, I have not backed down on any fight," Pacquiao said. With Pacquiao running for president, does it mean he's retiring from boxing? Sean Gibbons, the president of Pacquiao's promotional company told ESPN that he's not made a decision about his boxing future. However, it's likely a decision will come soon. 

"In the coming weeks, the senator will decide how he's going to finish his professional boxing career," Gibbons said. "After the fight and recently, he's discussed retiring [or] maybe one more [fight]. He's just talking out loud about different situations. Until you see it officially come out on his Twitter or Instagram, he isn't retired. Once you see it on a platform like that, it's official. Anything else is just talk about what his thoughts are in the moment. It's coming from him, but it's hearsay."

Pacquiao was set to face Errol Spence Jr. last month. However, Spence had to withdraw from the fight due to a detached retina, leading to Ugas taking his place. In his career, Pacquaio has posted a 62-8-2 record, winning his last three of four matches. Overall, Pacquiao has won 12 major world titles and is the first boxer to win championships in the flyweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight divisions.