Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, connects with a right to the head of Manny Pacquiao, from the Philippines, during their welterweight title fight on Saturday, May 2, 2015 in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Manny Pacquiao only knows one way to end his celebrated boxing career.
Pacquiao has an scheduled bout this April in what many expect could be his last, but the eight-division champion isn’t keen on making his third meeting with Timothy Bradley his farewell fight.
According to PhilBoxing.com, Pacquiao won’t hang up his gloves until he gets a do-over against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
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“I have been very vocal about it (fighting Mayweather) even before the Bradley fight was made official on New Year’s eve,” Pacquiao told PhilBoxing.com’s Eddie Alinea. “The reason is simple, I want to end my 21-year boxing career with a big bang so to speak.”
Pacquiao lost to Mayweather via unanimous decision last May in one of the biggest sporting events of 2015.
The 37-year-old Pacquiao hasn’t fought since while Mayweather went on to tie boxing legend Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record with a lopsided win over Andre Berto last September before announcing his retirement that up to now has left many unconvinced he could stay away from lucrative fight offers given his ostentatious lifestyle.
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Pacquiao also felt that he and Mayweather have an unfinished business after their fight failed to live up to its “Fight of the Century” billing with fans, who waited for years before finally seeing both boxers in one ring, kept from getting the kind of show they deserved.
“We could have given that last May when we faced each other but due to unavoidable circumstances, sports fans failed to get the results they wanted,” said the Sarangani Representative, who is shooting for a Senate seat in the May elections, in the report.
“Not that Floyd’s legacy and mine can still be questioned, but wouldn’t it be more colorful and meaningful closing our respective careers on higher notes at the same time putting an end, too, on the business we started but we were unable to finish?” added Pacquiao, who revealed he had to fight through a shoulder injury during the fight.
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Pacquiao also defended his choice of picking Bradley as his next opponent.
The Fighter of the Decade said the fans were his number one priority in opting to fight Bradley, the WBO welterweight champion, again despite having beaten him twice.
Bradley won the judges’ nod with a controversial split-decision victory in their first encounter in 2012, but the rest of the world knew Pacquiao won. Two years later, Pacquiao didn’t leave anything to chance as he dominated Bradley anew for a unanimous decision win.
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“And the most important, of course, was what fight can give fans the enjoyment and excitement they expect, which, actually is my primary criteria in choosing an opponent,” Pacquiao said.
“Many, indeed, seemed dissatisfied with the choice, but what I can assure everybody is we made that decision having the interest of the boxing public in mind.”