manny pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao is currently a member of the senate in Philippines getty

Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao has hinted that he could run for the Philippines presidency claiming that "God will deliver the presidency if it is his will". Pacquiao is currently a senator after he won a seat in the Senate during the 2016 national election.

This is not the first time that the 37-year-old has spoken about his presidential ambitions. In 2013 his former promoter Bob Arum had revealed that the boxer had plans to run for the senate in 2016 and then in 2022 or may run for president.

More from Boxing

The current World Boxing Organisation (WBO) welterweight champion had last week refuted rumours that he is looking to run for the president's office in 2022 adding that he would rather focus on being a lawmaker then seek the role. However, it seems as if he has changed his mind.

"I am not closing doors. God will deliver you the presidency if that is his will. It's far from my mind. I'd like to focus on my legislative work for now", Pacquiao said, as quoted by zeenews.

For now Pacquiao is backing current president Duterte to bring about a change in the country. He considers Duterte a good friend, not surprising since the duo hail from the Mindanao island in southern Philippines and are political allies.

"That's my commitment. I am glad that the president and I have the same advocacies. I'm sure that within six years there will be a lot of changes in our country."

Despite his popularity, a number of people are not impressed with his performance when it comes to being a senator. Many are irked by his regular absence from senate meetings, and his controversial comments suggesting gay couples are "worse than animals" drew a lot of flak.

The legendary boxer who retired post his fight with Timothy Bradley on 9 April made a successful comeback when he defeated Jessie Vargas via an unanimous 118-109, 118-109 and 114-113 decision to win the WBO welterweight title at the Thomas & Mack Centre on 5 November.