Big news coming out of the boxing world today. ESPN is reporting that Manny Pacquiao will take a fight next spring on April 9, and will retire following that fight. ESPN's Dan Rafael has the news, which comes via Bob Arum. As Arum told ESPN, Pacquiao will take this final fight in April, and will then walk away from the sport to focus on his political career in the Philippines.
This news comes less than two months after the announced retirement of Floyd Mayweather, and less than a year after these two undisputed greatest of this generation finally met in their long anticipated superfight. If Pacquiao does indeed hang up his gloves next year, it will mark the definitive end to the Mayweather/Pacquiao era.
An opponent has not yet been announced, but Arum has indicated that Terence Crawford was a leading candidate, pending the results of his Saturday night fight with Dierry Jean. Crawford turned in an excellent and exciting performance in that fight, winning every round and ultimately stopping Jean in the 10th round. If it is true that this was an audition fight, then you have to consider Crawford a strong possibility for Pacquiao's final opponent on April 9.