“At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since.” ― Salvador Dalí
You might wonder why a boxer as accomplished as Pacquiao would still continue fighting despite pleading from his wife Jinky and mother Dionesia to retire from boxing.
Teary eyed Jinky -- who's in General Santos City waiting for the birth of her fifth child, told his husband , Manny via an interview with local TV channel in the Philippines that he has proven a lot after winning this second match against American Timothy Bradley.
Jinky further told that he (Pacquiao) has proven everything, and that he's not getting any younger. He should retire. All throughout the 12 rounds, Jinkee was seen cradling her womb. She is expected to give birth within the month.
Manny Pacquiao, now 35, has been a champion in eight different divisions. A feat that no other boxer has reached so far, which I believe -- no other boxer will ever equal or surpass -- in the near future. He was champion at flyweight all the way to junior middleweight in his 19-year career as a professional price-fighter.
Financially, Pacquaio was among the top 100 world's Highest-Paid Athlete. He placed at number 14, tied with rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. He amassed a total of $300 million since 2009, in salary/winnings and endorsement.
What else a Manny Pacquiao needs to prove in the sport of boxing?
I believed his reasons to continue boxing were beyond boxing.
Politics
Manny Pacquiao is not only a boxer: he's also a congressman in the lone district of Saranggani. A government position that needs full time attention. If I to choose between boxing and being a congressman; I will choose being a full time congressman than to keep punching people in the head.
But for Manny Pacquiao he wanted to keep on fighting at least until 2016, because he's planning to run for a higher position in 2016 national and presidential election in the Philippines.
Vice President Jejomar Binay told the media that Pacquiao has a slate in his senatorial line-up. Although Pacquiao didn't confirm that he will run for senator in a separate interview.
But I believed he will. And a win in late December 2015 or early 2016 could boost his campaign -- not by popularity because he's no doubt the most popular senatorial candidate but of course I'm talking about financially. He needs to fund a campaign at a national level.
Taxes
The more you earn the more you spend, and the more taxes you need to pay.
"Despite earning nearly $200 million during his brilliant career, Pacquiao always hemorrhaged money." wrote Brin Jonathan Butler in a long form article entitled "Requiem for a Welterweight" published on SB Nation.
If we're going to sum up: Manny is a generous man that shares his blessings to his countrymen. It becomes a common thing for Pacquaio to distribute money and rice to his constituents every after fight and during his birthday. He also maintains a payroll of hundreds if not thousands of employees. With or without fight in a particular month, Pacquiao needs to pay their salaries.
On paying taxes, it seemed that every Pacquaio fight was not taxed (or not fully taxed) accordingly in the Philippines. So the taxes were accumulated, that he needs a whole earnings in one fight to cover all his taxes in the Philippines. In an article by Robert W. Wood of Forbes.com, Pacquiao owes as much as $50 million.
"For a time, his promoter, Top Rank Inc., evidently submitted correspondence to the Philippines tax man showing that he did pay U.S. taxes via withholding. But the official IRS documents to confirm it were long debated. Some reports say that in all, he owes as much as $50 million."
He earned $20 million for his dominating performance against Timothy Bradley. He needs to fight more than two times with the same earnings.
Taxes and politics is a lethal combination that will push Pacquiao to keep fighting even beyond 2016.
Do you have any other reasons why Pacquiao will keep on fighting beyond 2016?
Sources:
After win, tearful Jinkee asks Pacquiao to retire. ABS-CBN News.com. April 13, 2014. Available online.
The World's Highest -Paid Athlete. Forbes.com. Values calculated on June 2013. Available online.
Brin-Jonathan Butler. Requiem for a Welterweight. SB Nation. November 20, 2013. Available online.
Robert W. Wood. Manny Pacquiao's $20M Victory Over Bradley Is Big Win For IRS Too. Forbes.com. April 13, 2014. Available online.
Christine O. Avendano. BIR: Pacquiao misdeclared ’09 income. Philippine Daily Inquirer. November 29, 2013. Available online.
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