Tributes pour online as Manny Pacquiao announces retirement


Manny Pacquiao (AFP)

Tributes poured on social media following Manny Pacquiao’s announcement that he is retiring from professional boxing.

Pacquiao’s name trended on Twitter Wednesday after posting his 14-minute video titled “Goodbye boxing,” which already gained more than 7,000 retweets and 21,000 likes four hours after it was made public.

On Facebook, it already has 199,000 views, 16,000 likes and 3,500 comments as of this writing.

Cuban fighter Yordenis Ugas, who prevailed over Pacquiao last month and became the Filipino pound-for-pound king's last opponent, kept his message short in a Twitter post.

"Legend forever," Ugas wrote, retweeting Pacquiao's video message.

Several international sports outlets that include ESPN, SportsCenter, Sports Illustrated, The Bleacher Reports sent well wishes to Pacquiao, whose illustrious career spanned decades.

Athletes, boxing journalists and fans also thanked his contribution to the sport.