Boxing star Manny Pacquiao said on Sunday he would run for President of the Philippines next year, after railing against corruption in government and what he calls President Rodrigo Duterte’s cozy relationship with China.

Pacquiao accepted the nomination of his political allies during the national assembly of the faction he leads in the ruling PDP-Laban Party, days after a rival group nominated Duterte’s long-time aide, Senator Christopher “Bong”, as its presidential candidate.

“I am a fighter, and I will always be a fighter inside and outside the ring,” Pacquiao, 42, a senator, said.