After Political Defeat, Manny Pacquiao Returns to the Ring
After a stint in populist politics, the boxing legend returns to the fray on July 19. Whether the public still cheers him on—or whether the shine has worn off for good—remains to be seen.
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“Right now, the book of politics is closed.”
These were the words uttered by Manny Pacquiao after being asked by the Associated Press about his decision to return to boxing following an extended hiatus.
The former eight-division world champion will take on World Boxing Council (WBC) champ Mario Barrios on July 19, marking the start of his unexpected comeback after a six-year stint as a senator and a failed presidential bid in 2022. Not only will the 46-year-old attempt to break his own record as the oldest welterweight champion in history, but he try to achieve this feat against an opponent who was born a few months after Pacquiao’s first fight in 1995.
Whether Pacquiao can recapture the brilliance of his boxing prime remains to be seen. Just as uncertain is whether fans will be willing to join him on this next chapter, especially after a polarizing political stint that saw him align with one of the Philippines’ most divisive and bloodthirsty leaders.
Pacquiao’s life story is the stuff of Hollywood movies – a journey that began as a stowaway on a ship bound for Manila, where Pacquiao intended to pursue his dream as a boxer.
Born in 1978 as the fourth child in a family of six siblings, Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao grew up in immense poverty – poverty so severe that his father was forced to kill their pet dog for food. At age 12, he dropped out of school to pursue a career in boxing and moved in with his uncle, Sardo Mejia, in a one-storey home in the southern Philippine city of General Santos. Mejia, who had no formal training as a fighter, would go on to become the future star’s first boxing trainer.
By 15, Pacquiao was regarded as one of the best junior boxers in the country, and frequently competed in a public park in General Santos. However, the teenager sought greater success, so he stowed away on a ship bound for Manila. When he arrived in the city, he slept on cardboard boxes, sold doughnuts, and cleaned boxing gyms in order to survive, all while continuing to improve his skills and rise through the ranks.
The following year, Pacquiao turned professional and made his official debut as a junior flyweight in 1995. Three years later, he won the WBC flyweight title, his first major championship.
Over the course of an illustrious 25-year career, Pacquiao dominated his competition, rising to become an eight-weight world champion, a lineal champion in five separate weight classes, and the only boxer to hold world championships across four decades. By 2015, his 25 pay-per-view fights had generated more than $1 billion in revenue.
Pacquiao has defeated 22 world champions, including Juan Manuel Márquez (twice), David Díaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley, Brandon Ríos, Timothy Bradley (twice), Chris Algieri, Jessie Vargas, Lucas Matthysse, Adrien Broner and, most recently, Keith Thurman. His achievements earned him the title of ‘Fighter of the Decade’ for the 2000s, and he was widely considered to be the pound-for-pound king until his losses in 2012.
At the height of his professional career, Pacquiao announced his campaign for a seat in the Philippine House of Representatives. And while he was ultimately defeated by the incumbent representative, who explained that “people weren’t prepared to lose him as their boxing icon,” Pacquiao’s career in politics was only just beginning.
On Nov. 21, 2009, Pacquiao announced that he would once again seek a congressional seat, this time in his wife’s hometown in the Sarangani province. His campaign was a success, earning a landslide victory of more than two thirds of the votes. By 2010, Pacquiao had become a representative in the 15th Congress of the Philippines.
The pugilist-turned-politician completed his term and ran again (unopposed this time) in 2013, where he was re-elected. Shortly thereafter, Pacquiao faced the first scandal of his career when the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued a freeze order on all of Pacquiao’s Philippine bank accounts due to his alleged tax evasion for earnings he made from his fights in the United States between 2008-09.
In 2015, Pacquiao announced his intent to run for a seat in the Senate. He ran under the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) and was elected in May 2016. Shortly thereafter, he became aligned with Rodrigo Duterte government, and switched to the newly-elected president’s PDP-Laban party.
It was here that Pacquiao showed his true colours.
During his first year as senator, Pacquiao condemned same-sex marriage, stating that “if we approve male on male, female on female [marriage], then man is worse than animal.” Hiding behind the vernacular of the Bible, the boxer added that “God only expects man and women to be together and to be legally married.”
Pacquiao was later criticized by local celebrities and members of the LGBTQ+ community around the world. Nike ended its longstanding partnership with Pacquiao over his comments. And while Pacquiao eventually apologized, he clarified that he was still against same-sex marriage.
Later that same year, Pacquiao showed support for capital punishment, once again relying on his religiosity as the basis for his argument.
“Having read the Bible on a regular basis, I am convinced that God is not just a God of mercy, but he is also a God of justice. So on the issue of the death penalty, I could not help but consult the Bible,” Pacquiao said during a Senate session in 2016. “When the government punishes, it’s not an individual act. That’s approved by God. That’s what the Bible says. Are we greater than God? Because God is allowing [the] death penalty in every nation, in every country.”
During his tenure as senator, Pacquiao showed support for the Duterte’s bloody war on drugs that led to the extrajudicial slaughtering of more than 12,000 Filipinos. However, the boxing great has since distanced himself from Duterte, taking aim instead at Duterte’s “lacking” response to China over its perceived aggression in the South China Sea.
Pacquiao also targeted government corruption in the Philippines, claiming that more than 10 billion pesos ($204 million) in pandemic aid intended for poor families was unaccounted for. His statement came in the wake of the Senate opening an investigation into alleged price manipulation of pandemic-related equipment purchased as part of the government’s COVID-19 response programme. The senator will continue to make anti-corruption a cornerstone of his campaign.
After serving as a senator from 2016-2022, Pacquiao filed his candidacy for the 2022 presidential election. He was already the acting president of the PDP-Laban, the same party as incumbent president Duterte, since 2020 but infighting caused the party to split into two factions; one which is loyal to Duterte and another loyal to Pacquiao. He eventually lost the election by a wide margin, finishing third out of ten candidates.
Pacquiao ran to reclaim his Senate seat in 2025, but finished 18th in the midterm elections. After that defeat, Pacquiao quickly announced plans to return to boxing, despite more than four years away from the ring. He has since attempted to distance himself from his political career and his association with Duterte. He claimed he was disillusioned by how “dirty’ the system was and that he was unable to serve “honestly.”
“Politics is so dirty,” Pacquiao told TMZ in June 2025. “I don't like that. I don't like that. When I was in politics, I wanted to serve honestly. I want to serve people because that's our legacy."
Pacquiao’s attempt to paint himself as a victim of a corrupt system is a disingenuous interpretation of his tenure in office. The boxer rode his immense popularity as a boxing icon to a political career, relying on his rags-to-riches story to resonate with poor and working class Filipinos. But despite his populist strategy, he held a lackluster legislative record, focusing primarily on a moralistic agenda banning same-sex marriage and a hardline view on crime. The most damning aspect of his career is his alliance with Duterte, where he supported the president’s war on drugs and echoed his tough-on-crime position.
Having floundered in politics, Pacquiao is returning to what he knows best: punching opponents in the face. Whether the public is still willing to cheer him on—or whether the shine has worn off for good—remains to be seen.
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