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 The 37-year-old former world champion will fight American Timothy
Bradley, reigning WBO welterweight champion, for a third time in
April, exactly a month before he contests an election for one of 12
vacant seats in the upper house of Congress.
The bout is being billed as Pacquiao's last fight, as the sporting
hero brings down the curtain on a career that saw him crowned world
champion in eight different weight divisions.
"We have some form of control, or regulatory supervision, over
entities which have a franchise during the election period," Andres
Bautista, chairman of the Commission on Elections, said
Bautista said the commission could prohibit public broadcasts in the
Philippines of the fight.
"That could be possible, but as to whether we can stop him from
fighting, that's different."
The poll body has given Pacquiao, a two-term congressman, five days
to comment on the issue before making a final ruling on whether the
bout violates election rules.
Bautista said the poll body's law department has presented several
options for Pacquiao, including a partial restriction on the airing
of his fight.
Earlier, Pacquiao said it was difficult to postpone the bout and
pointed out that he had also fought a month before polling in past
elections.
Last month, a left-wing candidate and rival of Pacquiao wanted the
poll body to declare the boxing match a violation of election rules
as it would give the boxer an undue advantage over other candidates
in the race to become a senator.
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Last month, Pacquiao lost a sponsorship deal with Nike Inc, as the
world's largest sportswear-maker cancelled its contract with the
Filipino boxer after he described gays as "worse than animals".
Pacquiao remains popular in the Philippines, regardless, and opinion
polls rank him 8th among four dozen candidates running for Senate
seats.
On May 9, more than 54 million people in the Philippines will vote
for a president, vice-president, 300 lawmakers and thousands of
local government posts.
(Reporting By Manuel Mogato; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
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