Manny Pacquiao knows that his prizefighting days are numbered.
Though feeling younger than ever, the 42-year-old boxer-lawmaker has a lot of things ahead of him. Running for a higher post is a possibility. Father time, whether he likes it or not, is also catching up to him.
But for Pacquiao — the world’s only eight-division boxing champion, he still feels that he has a chip on his shoulder. And he wants nothing but to fight the best until his mental catches up with his physical.
“I don’t know if this is going to be my last [time in the ring], we are going to see fight by fight,” he told ESPN.com.
“But if I have the possibility of making one more fight, then I would like to face the best — either Terence Crawford or Errol Spence.”
Pacquiao versus the WBC and IBF welterweight champ Spence almost came into fruition. It was actually just days away from happening before the American had to pull out due to a detached right retina.
On the other hand, Pacquiao versus Crawford had always been a dream match.
But on Sunday (Manila time), Pacquiao gets a chance to nab one of the welterweight belts as he takes on “super champion” Yordenis Ugas.
The good senator wants nothing but to give the fans his best as this could possibly be his last outing.
“I never imagined what I would have accomplished in boxing from the beginning of my career leading up to now. I went from nothing to something in order to be an inspiration for people both inside and outside of the ring,” he said.
“This is going to be a good action fight and I’m going to do my best Saturday night because I love to make the fans happy.”
Hall of fame head coach Freddie Roach still believes that Pacquiao still has some gas left in his tank.
But if this will be Pacquiao’s swansong, Roach said that coaching him has been nothing but a pleasure.
“Manny Pacquiao has been the best fighter I’ve ever trained. To win titles in eight divisions and be in fights here at MGM so many times, has been a dream come true,” Roach said.
“I’ve trained over 40 world champions throughout my career, but no one competes with Manny Pacquiao.”
