Manny Pacquiao reacts after fighting to a majority draw against Mario Barrios in a welterweight title boxing match Saturday, July 19, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
HOLLYWOOD—Two days after coming up short of chalking up a victorious comeback, Manny Pacquiao said that his boxing journey will continue as he turns 47 in December and that politics is out of the picture. At least for the moment.
After two failed bids in the last two national elections back home, Pacquiao said that he is ready to “forget” politics even as estimates have it that, after all of the computations are done, he will make somewhere between $17-$18 million (roughly P1.008B) for settling for a majority draw decision in his WBC welterweight title fight with Mario Barrios Saturday night (Sunday in Manila).
The way he fought, though, clearly showed that he lacked the hand speed that he had and the footwork that befuddled and helped conquer the many great fighters he faced.
Still, his legacy is cast in stone, his induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame being a testament to that. And he said that he will continue helping people while trying to go on with fighting for as long as he can.
“Pacman is back and the journey will continue,” he had said after the fight. “Politics? Forget about politics. I’m a private citizen right now.”
Pacquiao ran for the Philippine presidency, finishing a distant third in 2022. He then failed in his bid for reelection for a Senate seat in the mid-term elections last May, something which cost him valuable training time and ultimately, the chance to beat Barrios.
“I want to live a simple life, giving inspiration. I’m still helping other people,” he said. “I want to create a legacy that I can leave behind when we’re gone because we’re not (going to stay) forever in this world.
“We’re just passing by.”
If at all, the comeback fight solidified his stature as one of the all-time biggest draws in his sport as the MGM Grand Arena was sold out to 13,107 fans rooting mostly for boxing’s only eight-division world champion.
He still believes he can add to his legacy, even if fighting at the highest level could be dangerous for someone his age.
And who can blame him. Pacquiao knows—like no one else does—what it takes for a nobody to become the best in the business.
“As much as possible, while you still have the strength, the capacity to make a legacy, then do it,” he said. “At the end of the day, you don’t regret it because that’s how people and the next generation will remember you.”
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Even the generation next to that will talk about him, that’s for sure. INQ