Manny Pacquiao retires from boxing at age 42

Manny Pacquiao of Kibawe, Philippines, one of the greatest non-heavyweight boxers of all-time retired from professional boxing at age 42 on Tuesday according to Mike Coppinger of ESPN. Among Pacquiao’s accomplishments include being the oldest welterweight boxing champion of all-time (age 40), and the only eight-division world champion.

Pacquiao’s titles came in the welterweight division, the light middleweight division, the light welterweight division, the lightweight division, the super featherweight division, the featherweight division, the super bantamweight division, and flyweight division. The heaviest weight class he was in was 154 pounds (light middleweight), and the lightest weight class he was in was 112 pounds (flyweight).

Pacquiao became an octuple division boxing champion when he defeated Antonio Margarito of Mexico in a unanimous decision on November 13, 2010. At the time, Pacquiao won the World Boxing Council Light Middleweight division.

One other major story surrounding Pacquiao’s career was his rivalry with the great American boxer Floyd Mayweather of Grand Rapids, MI, The two boxers only met once for the WBO Welterweight title, and that was on May 2, 2015. Mayweather was victorious in a unanimous decision in Paradise, NV.

Many boxing fans were disappointed over the years that Pacquiao never fought Mayweather on more occasions, or when the two boxers were in the prime of their careers. However, a deal could never be made. The fact that Pacquiao never fought Mayweather earlier became the biggest story in boxing in the late 2000s. When the two did fight (Mayweather was 38 years old, and Pacquiao was 36 years old), the fight did not live up to the hype.

Outside of boxing, Pacquiao is a politician in his native country of the Philippines. He is currently a senator, and according to the BBC, has the intention to run for president of the Philippines. Pacquiao is also known for his wealth. With a worth of $220 million, he is the third richest boxer in the world, only behind Mayweather and George Foreman.