Boxing trainer Freddy Roach says Manny Pacquiao is two fights away from running to become president of the Philippines.
“Manny would like to fight a couple of more times and then run for the presidency of his country,” Roach told BoxingScene.com on Thursday.
Roach added that the race would be historic: “The first fighter to ever do that and it will be another part of his history and I think he will be really good at.”
Granted, Pacquiao is certainly not new to politics. He has already been a member of his country’s Senate since winning election in 2016.
Roach went on to list a number of possible opponents that Pacquiao might face in the ring before running for his country’s top political post.
Pacquiao is reportedly considering bouts with Mikey Garcia and Terence Crawford. He might even try to arrange a high-profile match against Gennady Golovkin. Roach, though, felt that Golovkin, who dominates a higher weight class than Pacquiao, might be a bit too much for his guy to take on.
“Personally, I think it’s too much weight (for Pacquiao to fight at middleweight), but I wouldn’t say definitely no, that Manny would do that,” Roach said of taking on Golovkin. “I don’t think 160 is really viable but you never know with Manny Pacquiao. But the thing is we all know it’s his decision and he’ll make the right one.”
Roach had his own dream opponent in mind, too. The trainer felt that a final match against Floyd Mayweather would be a big deal.
Still, Pacquiao is the boss. “Manny has to make the decision on who he’s going to fight and we’re all going to be happy with who he picks,” Roach concluded.
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