Bob Arum: Manny Pacquiao will retire next year

Manny Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, said the boxer will retire in 2016 to become a senator in the Philippines.

Manny Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, says the boxer will retire in 2016 to become a senator in the Philippines.

Arum, speaking to TMZ Sports, said the 36-year-old Pacquiao would fight once more next year, when his shoulder is healthy. Arum, the founder and CEO of Top Rank, Inc., also said Pacquiao would likely retire before Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather defeated Pacquiao in May for the world welterweight championship.

Asked what Pacquiao would have to do to become the world’s highest-paid athlete—a title currently held by Mayweather—Arum said, “Well I don't think that’s necessarily [Pacquiao’s] goal. He’s going to fight again next year, but his goal is to become a senator in the Philippines, which he will be next year, and then to be president.”

Regarding Pacquiao’s next fight, both his camp and Mayweather’s have denied the possibility of a rematch. Last month, Arum said he could arrange a bout between Pacquiao and Amir Khan, the former two-time world champion.