The Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao announced on Sunday his candidacy for the presidency of his country in the 2022 elections, thus putting an end to months of speculation about his political future.
"The time has come, we are ready to face the challenge," declared the 42-year-old Filipino boxing star, who has accepted to be a candidate from a dissident faction of the current president Rodrigo Duterte's party.
Pacquiao, known as "Pac Man," is the only boxer to have been a world champion in eight different weight categories, and is a source of endless pride for Filipinos.
The boxer made his decision to run for office a few weeks after his last professional fight, when he was defeated on August 22 in Las Vegas by Cuban Yordenis Ugas.
Pacquiao is very popular
Manny Pacquiao entered politics in 2010 when he was elected as a congressman, before becoming a senator in 2016. He has generated controversies with his statements in favor of the death penalty and hostile towards homosexuality.
But he is very popular in his country, where his generosity and his path to success after being born in extreme poverty are greatly admired.
In his childhood, he lived on the streets before embarking on professional boxing in January 1995 with a purse of 1,000 pesos, just over 20 dollars. He has since amassed a fortune of over 500 million dollars.
(AFP)
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