Manny Pacquiao is going to retire. Like, he's going to say he is retired. He is going to, as he puts it, go back to the Philippines, spend more time with his family, and help the people of his country. He's going to run for Senate. He's going to do all these things.
But will he fight again? He's not sure.
"That's my decision (to retire)," he told reporters after his Saturday night win over Timothy Bradley, "but if you ask me if I'm going to come back, I don't know. I don't know how I'll feel about retirement. I don't know. Maybe I'll enjoy being a retired boxer, or I'll miss the boxing."
So Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38 KO) is going to retire. For now. But he might fight again, because he's not sure if he's actually going to enjoy retirement, or if the pull of boxing will bring him back into the fold.
It is, in a way, sort of oddly refreshing. Fighters retire and come back all the time. We know this. It has been done repeatedly by some of the biggest names in boxing. Floyd Mayweather, who is currently retired, has retired before and returned. Muhammad Ali retired in 1979, but came back in 1980, and again in 1981. Recently, Ricky Hatton officially retired in 2011, two years after his last fight, but returned in 2012. The list can go on and on.
Pacquiao, 37, might retire, do all those things he talks about, and get the itch to fight again. Should he? Maybe, maybe not. If he waits too long, probably not. Will he? We can't say for sure, but there's a lot of history that suggests that there is at least a pretty good chance.