By CARLO ANOLIN
Manny Pacquiao is set to make a decision whether he will run for the highest political seat in the Philippines or not.
The announcement will come after his fight against Cuban Olympian Yordenis Ugas, the super WBA welterweight champion, in what was deemed Pacquiao’s supposed swan song at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada Saturday there (Sunday in Manila).
“After this fight, I’m going to make a decision if I’m going to run or not. But I will announce it. I will announce after the fight,” said Pacquiao in an interview with Premier Boxing Champions without diving into the specifics.
Sans an exact timestamp for the announcement, Pacquiao has been involved in presidential talks since Top Rank chief Bob Arum, his long-time promoter, mentioned the topic mid-2020.
Although Pacquiao denied talking about politics with Arum at that time, the Hall of Famer promoter sees the fighting senator as a “splendid president” for the country.
Legendary coach Freddie Roach, who has been with Pacquiao the entirety of his boxing career, fueled talks anew in February surrounding the Filipino boxer’s future as far as politics is concerned.
“[The] thing is you know, Manny’s 42 now and it might be a good time to catch him (Garcia) you know. But the thing is, Manny hasn’t been active either. And he’s trying to save his country right now and he’s gonna — he’ll be running for president pretty soon,” said the 60-year-old Roach in an old interview with Fight Hub TV.
“And that’s a good thing though because I think that he wants to be the first world champion [and] as president also. But I would love to see it and I would love to be part of it. I just hope I got a call too,” added Roach with a chuckle.
Vice President Leni Robredo said early this month that she will be having a sit down discussion with Pacquiao regarding their political views, standpoint in the May 2022 elections, among others, after the Las Vegas bout.
Robredo, however, clarified that nothing is cast in stone yet as she continued talks other possible candidates such as Senators Richard Gordon and Panfilo Lacson.
