“My April 9 fight against Timothy Bradley will be my last. I’m retiring from boxing to focus on my new job,” Pacquiao told Philboxing.com during an interview in his mansion on Monday evening.
But in another report on Philboxing on January 1, he was quoted to have said that he isn’t retiring unless he gets a rematch against Mayweather.
“Wala akong sinabing ganun. Wala namang nag-interview sa’ kin tungkol diyan. Pagkatapos ng laban ko sa April 9, magreretiro na ako sa boxing,” Pacquiao stressed. (I didn’t say that, No one had interviewed me regarding that. After my fight on April 9, I will be retiring from boxing).
Here are the quotes from the Jan 1 report on Philboxing by veteran reporter Eddie Alinea.
“I have been very vocal about it (fighting Mayweather) even before the Bradley fight was made official on New Year’s eve,” Pacquiao told this writer. “The reason is simple, I want to end my 21-year boxing career with a big bang so to speak.”
“And what would be the biggest fight to end a career than fighting the best and finest boxer at least in this era?” the only man to win world tiaras in eight divisions and four lineal plums asked.
“We could have given that last May when we faced each other but due to unavoidable circumstances, sports fans failed to get the results they wanted,” the Sarangani congressman who is seeking a seat in the Upper Chamber in the May elections, said.
“Not that Floyd’s legacy and mine can still be questioned but wouldn’t it be more colorful and meaningful closing our respective careers on higher notes at the same time putting an end, too, on the business we started but we were unable to finish?”
Before confirming his third fight against Bradley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Pacquiao has admitted he has been goading Mayweather to reconsider his decision to retire and face him again in a rematch.
But Mayweather has remained tight-lipped on his thoughts about the rematch despite his initial statement that he would give Pacquiao a second chance.
