Manny Pacquiao is set to come out of retirement for the second time, with a welterweight bout against Conor Benn on the cards.

The Filipino, who announced he was quitting the sport once again in August 2021, looks poised to be the opponent for the Briton's comeback bout.

Benn, who saw a fight with Chris Eubank Jr postponed after he tested positive for a banned substance in October, was reinstated to the WBC rankings earlier this year.

Now Pacquiao, who stepped back after a defeat to Yordenis Ugas in order to run for the Philippines presidency in last year's election, could be his return opponent, per his promoter Sean Gibbobs.

"He retired for a minute to run for President of the Philippines, where he took a respectful third place," he told ESPN. 

"After that he felt that his retirement was due to running for president, and now that [he wasn't elected], he wants to fight again and feels like he can do it at the highest level.

"Manny is an all-time great and he feels like he still has a lot of fight left in him and he still wants to compete at the highest level.

"This fight [against Benn] was presented to him by [promoter] Eddie Hearn, and he agreed. [The] ball is in Eddie Hearn's court [but] Pacquiao ready to go."

Widely considered one of the sport's all-time great fighters, Pacquiao held world titles in eight different weight divisions across a 72-fight career, with a 62-8-2 winning record.

He briefly retired in 2016, but returned that same year with a win over Jessie Vargas, and would present a starry opponent for Benn's first fight since April last year.

The Briton remains barred by the British Boxing Board of Control to fight on home soil, with his likely comeback match set to be pencilled in for June 3 in Abu Dhabi.

Hearn acknowledged there were other options for the fight though, adding: "We are in the process of selecting Conor Benn's next opponent and have been in active talks with Manny Pacquiao's team.

"We have had multiple site offers to stage the event and are looking to make an official announcement on Conor's next fight as early as next week."

Floyd Mayweather has revealed plans for an exhibition bout in the United Kingdom in February.

Mayweather retired from professional boxing in 2017, but has since taken part in exhibition fights in places such as Japan, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The 45-year-old has never fought in the UK, but that should change within the coming weeks.

"A bout is planned in the UK for 2023," Mayweather told the Sunday Telegraph. 

"In February we're looking forward to coming here and putting on an exhibition for the fans in the UK, because I've never had a chance to come over here and fight when I was actively boxing as a professional.

"So hopefully in February I'll come over and do an exhibition if it's possible."

Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather's long-time rival, also announced on Saturday he will be taking part in exhibitions in Japan in 2023.

"I have agreed with Rizin [promotional company] to fight next year," Pacquiao said during an in-ring presentation. 

"The date will soon be announced and also my opponent that Rizin will choose. I'm open to and excited to fight a Japanese fighter."

Manny Pacquiao will go down as one of the greatest fighters of all time and newly crowned world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk possesses a similar skillset, says Joseph Parker.

Pacquiao's decorated boxing career has come to an end, with the sport's only eight-division world champion announcing his retirement.

His decision came under a month after his unanimous points loss to Yordenis Ugas for the WBA super welterweight title.

The 42-year-old had made his boxing return against Ugas for the first time since July 2019, but the Filipino's comeback did not go according to plan in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao, who has declared his candidacy in the 2022 Philippine presidential election, retires with a record of 62 wins (39 knockouts), eight losses and two draws.

Heavyweight contender Parker, who was speaking prior to the formal announcement from Pacquiao, suggested he did not want to see one of the best boxers in history fight on. 

He also thinks Usyk, who has just been crowned WBA, WBO and IBF champion after defeating Anthony Joshua, possesses some of the same traits.

"I feel like he's going to go down as one of the best of all time," New Zealander Parker said to Stats Perform.

"It is quite hard to see someone like Pacquiao to continue to fight when he had this great legacy and great career. 

"And now he can still beat a lot of guys but it is hard to see someone who is not in his prime. They keep fighting and let these guys get the better of them."

Describing what makes Pacquiao special, Parker added: "I feel like he is similar to [Usyk]; his movement, his footwork; he's very quick on his feet and also the volume of punches that he throws. 

"He throws a lot of punches and combinations. 

"And I feel like it's really hard to fight someone like Pacquiao when he's trying throwing all these punches and the movement that he presents.

"His legacy? The eight-time division champion - just the achievement of that and a lot of a lot of young fighters look up to him. 

"You have to say that he's going to go down in history and he's going to always be talked about, as an eight-time division world champion. 

"And he can give a lot back to the sport by teaching the [young] fighters, signing other fighters and just being involved as a manager or promoter, as he knows the game and set up.

"My favourite Pacquiao fight? I really like the fight against Ricky Hatton. Just the timing and precision of when he landed the big shot to finish the fight. 

"Hatton is a beast himself and has had a great career, but when you’re in the ring with Manny Pacquiao it’s a different story."

Manny Pacquiao's decorated boxing career has come to an end, the sport's only eight-division world champion announcing his retirement.

Pacquiao called time on his career inside the ring a month after his unanimous decision loss to Yordenis Ugas for the WBA super welterweight title.

The 42-year-old had made his boxing return against Ugas for the first time since July 2019, but the Filipino great's comeback did not go according to plan in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao, who has declared his candidacy in the 2022 Philippine presidential election, retires with a record of 62 wins (39 knockouts), eight losses and two draws.

Regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, Pacquiao – the first fighter to win major world titles in four of the eight glamour divisions; flyweight, featherweight, lightweight and welterweight – is the only boxer to hold world championships across four decades in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s.

"It is difficult for me to accept that my time as a boxer is over. Today, I am announcing my retirement," Pacquiao said in a video on his Facebook page, having scored wins over the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto during his storied career.

"Wow... I never thought that this day would come. As I hang up my boxing gloves, I would like to thank the whole world especially the Filipino people, for supporting Manny Pacquiao."

Pacquiao, who made his professional debut aged 16, said: "You gave me the chance to fight our way out of poverty. Because of you, I was able to inspire people all over the world. Because of you, I have been given the courage to change more lives. I will never forget what I have done and accomplished in my life, I can't imagine.

"I just heard the final bell. Tapos na ang boksing [boxing is done]. Maraming, maraming salamat po [thank you very much]. God is good all the time.

"I was given the opportunity of representing the Philippines, bringing fame and honour to my country every time I entered the ring. I am grateful for all my accomplishments and the opportunity to inspire the fans."

 

Manny Pacquiao has declared his boxing career is over although the head of his promotional team moved to dispel retirement talk.

The 42-year-old southpaw lost to Yordenis Ugas last month, with many predicting that would end up being his last fight.

Pacquiao had on Sunday announced his intention to run for the Philippines presidency next year.

The former eight-weight world champion told Toni Talks that he is done with boxing.

"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."

However, Pacquiao's head of promotions Sean Gibbons moved to water down any retirement talk just yet.

"The Senator is a presidential candidate and has made no decision on his boxing career yet," Gibbons told Yahoo Sports.

"He will in the next few weeks make a final decision whether to have one more or retire."

Pacquiao had not fought competitively for more than two years prior to last month's WBA welterweight defeat to Ugas.

The Filipino has a 62-8-2 professional boxing record, with 39 wins by knockout.

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