Recent Nike news revealed that Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao wore the brand's boxing boots in his recent fight against Timothy Bradley. This comes after the athleisure wear company cut ties with the boxer for his anti-gay remarks.
Complex reported that the 37-year-old professional boxer wore the Nike HyperKO boxing boots inspired by the Philippine flag's colors. Pacquiao introduced the shoes last year during his fight against Floyd Mayweather.
Manny Pacquiao previously wore the Nike boxing boots in his bout with Bradley, where he wore a "Black/Red" version of the model. Bradley has also worn the HyperKO against Pacquiao before but chose to wear ASICS's wrestling shoe the Aggressor 2 for their latest fight.
Before the event, Pacquiao was seen wearing pieces from Under Armour. The publication noted that the company has denied their link to the fighter.
Pacquiao won over Bradley through a unanimous decision. He also announced his retirement. "Yes, as of now I am retired," he admitted. "I am going to go home and think about it, but I want to be with my family."
According to FN, the judge's scorecards showed 116-110 in favor of Manny Pacquiao. The 37-year-old Filipino boxer was able to knock Bradley down twice during the fight.
The website added that Pacquiao decided to retire in order to focus on his political career in his home country. Freddie Roach, his trainer, has revealed that he would like to see a match between Under Armour-sponsored fighter Canelo Alvarez as well as Floyd Mayweather.
Earlier this year, Nike decided to cut ties with the boxer after his derogatory comments about gay people. "We find Manny Pacquiao's comments abhorrent," a spokesperson for the brand wrote in an email. " Nike strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community."
There were speculations that Nike lost Stephen Curry to Under Armour because the brand would not allow the GSW player to put his favorite Bible verse (Philippians 4:13) on his signature basketball shoes. However, Curry's fallout with Nike seems to have stemmed when the brand did not invest in him before he rose to become a star.
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