Brandon Vera likes to run for senator in 2019

There could be two prizefighters on the Senate floor in the near future after Filipino-American ONE heavyweight champion Brandon Vera announced his desire to run for senator in 2019 following his first round knockout victory over Hideki Sekine this past Friday at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

"I've talked to ONE, I told this when I first signed that I want to retire at 40. I'm 39, next year I will be 40, but as a fighter I don't know when I'm going to retire. I told Victor Cui (ONE CEO) that I want to make sure I'm ready to retire. Just because I turned 40 doesn't mean I'm going to, it still depends on my mind and body," says Vera.

"I have lots of dreams here in the Philippines, most of all to help people in the province. So let's see what I can do after my fighting career. I would like to run for senator. I want to run for Senate in 2019. I want to help the people, I want to help the provinces. Nobody is looking into the provinces."

Born to a Filipino father and Italian-American mom, Vera spent most of his life in the United States. He finally moved to the Philippines earlier this year and got a dual citizenship.

Vera draws his political aspiration from fellow athlete and Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, but warns of a different kind of approach should he get elected as a senator.

"My politics is different. I won't put up with (expletive) I'll slap you. I'm really different so we'll see. I'm just following Manny Pacquiao's lead. It's really nice watching Pacquiao in Senate hearings and listening to him speak because he's not scared to say whatever he feels like saying," told Vera.

"And Pacquiao is a living hero, so you're not gonna touch Pacquiao. So if you say something wrong or incorrect, or he thinks you're incorrect, he'll ask, and say it in public. So we'll see, who knows, I might just be a farmer." —ALG, GMA News