Manny Pacquiao Not Officially Retired Despite Boxing Legend's Comments, per Adviser

Despite comments to the contrary, boxing legend Manny Pacquiao hasn't officially retired from the sport.

Sean Gibbons, the president of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, provided an update to ESPN's Mike Coppinger:

"In the coming weeks, the senator will decide how he's going to finish his professional boxing career. After the fight and recently, he's discussed retiring [or] maybe one more [fight]. He's just talking out loud about different situations.

"Until you see it officially come out on his Twitter or Instagram, he isn't retired. Once you see it on a platform like that, it's official. Anything else is just talk about what his thoughts are in the moment. It's coming from him, but it's hearsay."

Pacquiao had told television host Toni Gonzaga he was done with boxing, per Coppinger, leading many to assume he was retiring.

The 42-year-old is also coming off a unanimous-decision defeat to Yordenis Ugas on Aug. 21, his first fight in more than two years.

Unlike his losses to Jeff Horn and Timothy Bradley, there wasn't much controversy about the outcome. Ugas landed more total punches (151) and connected with 59.1 percent of his power punches.

Heading into the fight, Pacquiao was somewhat noncommittal about his future but told Salvador Rodriguez of ESPN Deportes he "would like to face the best" if he stepped in the ring again. He mentioned Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. as the two possibilities.

Interest in another Pacquiao superfight may have waned, however, following last month. While Ugas was a late replacement—thus presenting some problems in terms of preparation—the eight-division world champion showed his age.

Coppinger described him as "slow, both with his feet and his hands" and without his signature punching power. Were Pacquiao to cross paths with Crawford or Spence, the latter of whom has to recover from a retina injury, he might look even worse.

Pac-Man has also thrown cold water on fighting Jake Paul, removing that from the equation.

Pacquiao has retired once, only to later return to the ring. But that was at an earlier point in his career, when he still had something left in the tank.

Now, a more permanent retirement feels inevitable.