Manny Pacquiao backtracks on retirement plans just hours after announcement

Manny Pacquiao's future has been plunged back into uncertainty just hours after the ring legend confirmed his retirement.

Pacquiao announced his retirement from the sport yesterday in order to focus on a presidential run in his native Philippines.

But now an advisor to the former multiple-weight world champion has said that his retirement is far from final despite the fighter's defeat by Yordenis Ugas last month.

Sean Gibbons, the president of Pacquiao's promotional company, has told ESPN that the boxing star is still considering what's next for his career, and has yet to fully retire.

"In the coming weeks, the senator will decide how he's going to finish his professional boxing career," he 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 has in the past announced he was "retiring" to focus on politics, famously running for and winning a seat in the senate in 2016 after his fight with Timothy Bradley but he returned seven months later to take on Jessie Vargas.

His latest retirement announcement came during a recent interview with actress Toni Gonzaga on her YouTube program Toni Talks.

Speaking with the actress, he said that his defeat by Ugas last month was the final fight of his 26-year, 72-fight professional career.

"My boxing career? My boxing career is already over," Pacquiao said. "It's done because I've been in boxing for a long time and my family says that it is enough. I just continued [to box] because I'm passionate about this sport.

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"I will just support other boxers for us to have a champion again."

Pacquiao has served as a senator in the Philippines since 2016 and has now accepted the nomination of his political allies during the national assembly of the faction he leads in the ruling PDP-Laban Party.

"I am a fighter, and I will always be a fighter inside and outside the ring," Pacquiao, said in a speech made over live-stream.

"I am accepting your nomination as candidate for president of the Republic of the Philippines."

The 42-year-old won world titles at eight different weight classes, and 12 major titles during his iconic career.

He was one half of boxing's biggest ever fight in 2015 when he fought Floyd Mayweather with a massive 4.6million PPV buyers tuning in to watch.

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