Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao is among the top candidates expected to join the list of newly-elected senators of the Republic of the Philippines.
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With more than 91% of the votes counted Tuesday in the Philippines, according to Rappler.com, Pacquiao’s 14,952,141 votes are more than two million more than the 13th-place candidate.
Pacquiao is in seventh position in the senatorial race having so far got 15,498,509 votes.
Pacquiao will now be one of just 24 senators, and will serve a six-year term.
Pacquiao beat Timothy Bradley by unanimous decision last April 9 in what he said was his last fight. Despite many boxing fans believing that he would not push through, promoter Bob Arum states that he owes it to the Filipino people to do his job and has no time to screw around and train for a fight like he used to.
The boxer has already taken heavy criticisms due to his poor attendance during his time in congress. But now he’s been elected to nationwide office, and he has no specific constituency.
“My mindset is that it’s over”, said the 84-year-old Arum, dismissing the similarity between old fighters who returned to fight Pacquiao.
Pacquiao, 37, whose rise from desperate street kid to boxing superstar has made him one of the nation’s biggest heroes, retired from boxing last month to become a full-time politician.
If the pair agrees to return and unretired and have a rematch, it’s possible that both earn lucrative earnings once again like the first fight. If he can fight and wants to fight, I’m ready to help him.
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“Not only does he have an extraordinarily time-consuming job, Manny has to take time to learn how to do it and how to work day to day with the 23 other members of the senate”.
