Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao has announced that is retiring from the profession to focus on his political aspirations.
The 42-year-old, who is currently a senator in his native Phillippines, is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time.
He played his last match in Las Vegas last month — a defeat at the hands of Cuba's Yordenis Ugas.
This comes after the multi-division world champion announced his plan to run for president in the country's 2022 elections.
Pacquiao announced the news in a video posted to social media. "I just heard the final bell. Boxing is over," he said, detailing that retiring from the sport was one of the "hardest" decisions of his life.
He added that boxing has provided him with the "chance to fight my way out of poverty", and "the courage to change more lives."
The boxer also paid tribute to his long-time trainer, Freddie Roach — who he said was his "family, a brother and a friend."
"To the greatest fans and the greatest sport in the world, thank you! Thank you for all the wonderful memories. This is the hardest decision I’ve ever made, but I’m at peace with it. Chase your dreams, work hard, and watch what happens. Goodbye boxing," he captioned the post.
Pacquiao started his political carer back in 2010, after he won a seat in the lower house of the Philippines congress. He was then elected for a six-year term in the upper chamber in 2016.
Earlier in September, he announced he would be running for president after being nominated as a candidate by a faction of the ruling party, PDP-Laban. He has vowed to fight against poverty and corruption if he is elected.
The 42-year-old grew up in poverty himself, in the south of the Philippines. He moved to the capital, Manila, as a teenager to pursue his boxing aspirations.
He won his first professional title in 1998, in the WBC flyweight title, aged 19, when he defeated Thailand's Chatchai Sasakul.
Pacquiao is the only boxer to hold world championships across four decades. He retires with 62 wins, eight defeats, two draws.
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