Manny Pacquiao is no longer sure he’ll get another shot at Floyd Mayweather Jr. —REM ZAMORA
From a buzz of excitement generated by chance meetings, the talk of another megafight between Sen. Manny Pacquiao and American rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. has palpably died down.
Even the Filipino ring icon lost a huge dose of optimism that he’ll get another shot at spoiling the spotless slate of the fighter also known as “Money.”
“Hmmm, hindi ko na alam (I don’t know anymore),” Pacquiao said as he flicked the blister pack of a pain-relief capsule that he was endorsing.
“Basta may isang laban pa ako sa kanila (I still have one more fight with them),” he said, referring to Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), whose chief Al Haymon is a very close friend of Mayweather.
Boxing talk was a welcome intrusion to Pacquiao’s Senate duties on Wednesday, the only day he normally accepts visitors who are there for a myriad reasons, mainly to ask a favor from Pacquiao, who is as popular off the ring as he is on it because of his generosity.
Pacquiao said he already told PBC that he was available to fight either in May or July.
Pacquiao and Mayweather clashed four years ago in what went down as the richest fight in boxing history. The two had been crossing paths a lot in the past, firing up talk that a rematch is in the offing.
But Pacquiao is not putting his fight schedule on hold this year just to wait for an announcement from Mayweather.
The 40-year-old superstar, the only fighter to have won eight division titles, said he might even fight three times this year.
The last time he fought thrice in a year was in 2008, when he defeated Juan Manuel Marquez, David Diaz and Oscar De La Hoya. That year, he won the second of his three Fighter of the Year awards.
Pacquiao said he could face Keith Thurman, the WBA welterweight “super” champ who narrowly beat Josesito Lopez recently.
PBC handles Thurman and former Pacquiao sparring partner Shawn Porter, who is also a ticket holder for the Pacquiao lottery.
“It depends; both are with PBC. But you know me, I don’t pick my opponents. As long as they’re boxers,” said Pacquiao in Filipino.