Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao waves beside his wife Jinkee upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila December 12, 2012. Pacquiao said he felt "fine" on Sunday after his sensational sixth-round knockout by Mexican
Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao waves beside his wife Jinkee upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila December 12, 2012. Pacquiao said he felt "fine" on Sunday after his sensational sixth-round knockout by Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez and promised his fans he would return to the ring. Reuters/Cheryl Ravelo

Is Manny Pacquiao retiring from boxing? This is the question of every boxing fan wants answered after speculations grew on the future of the Filipino’s boxing career following the confirmation of his mega-buck showdown against undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. In a recent interview, Pacquiao has revealed that he is contemplating on officially hanging up his gloves for good.

“It is coming close,” Pacquiao told local Philippine media ABS-CBN. “We will announce it.”

At 36, Pacquiao has had an illustrious boxing career. He will be going into the Mayweather fight with a record of 57 wins, five losses, and two draws. He has held eight world titles in different weight divisions. Should the boxing champion start mulling on the thought of retirement? Pacquiao declined to give further details about when he will officially retire from the sport.

However, the Filipino boxing champion may still have to face around three opponents after extending his contract with Top Rank Promotions. His contract with Top Rank will run until Dec. 31, 2016.

Pacquiao has first spoken about his retirement plans in an interview with Philippine radio station DZMM in July 2014. He said that he would be retiring in 2016 and would be focusing on a Senate bid in the Philippine Congress. The United Nationalist Alliance political party reportedly asked him to run for senate under Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is on the lookout for the highest position in the Philippines during the 2016 elections.

Right now, Pacquiao is slated to face Mayweather on May 2 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has already started doing light training workouts with assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez in General Santos City, a southernmost city in the Philippines.

Pacquiao is believed to take home his biggest payout off the Mayweather fight. His purse split is 40 percent of the prize money and is likely to be around $80 million.

The fight is deemed as the biggest and the richest in the history of boxing. It took six years to make it happen after both fighters as well as the TV networks have finally met a common middle ground to give the boxing fans the fight that they have been craving for a long time.

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