CEBU, Philippines – In a dream, God told him to retire. But it seems Manny Pacquiao won’t heed that Divine calling, for now.
The boxing icon yesterday said he doesn’t have any plans of retiring at the moment, hinting at doing more fights, including a much sought-after superfight with unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather.
“Hindi ko pa pinag-isipan yan sa ngayon. Kaya ko pa na mang lumaban (Retiring is still far from my mind. I know I can still fight),” said Pacquiao in an exclusive interview with The Freeman at NS Outdoor Firing Range in Tawason, Mandaue City where he had a great time target shooting for nearly two hours.
Talks of his retirement made the headlines Tuesday after Pacquiao told radio station DZMM in an interview also broadcast over the channel’s Teleradyo TV show that he had been told by God in a dream to retire soon as he “has done enough.”
If she is to decide, Pacquiao’s wife Jinkee said she would have wanted Pacquiao to hang up his gloves after his match with American Tim Bradley in Las Vegas in June.
“Kung ako lang ang masusunod, gusto ko na talaga siya na mag-retire pagkatapos ng laban nila ni Bradley (If I would have my way, I would have want him to retire after his fight with Bradley),” said Jinkee. “Pero siguro pagbibigyan ko siya kahit isa na lang na laban kasi gusto talaga niya na makaharap si Mayweather (But I would let him fight one more time since he really wanted to take on Mayweather).”
Pacquiao has already expressed his willingness to take on Mayweather but negotiations for what is considered as the richest match in boxing history fizzled out because Mayweather demands too much, including an outrageous $100 million purse for the mega-fight to push through.
“Pacquiao wants to fight Mayweather, there’s no question about that. In fact, he is already amenable to the drug test and is willing to face Mayweather even if he gets a lower sum. The problem with Mayweather is that he demands too much. That should not be the case because Pacquiao is also a top draw,” said Cebuano promoter and Pacquiao’s confidant Rex “Wakee” Salud.
Pacquiao is in town to tape at least two episodes of Manny, Many Prizes, his weekly game show aired over GMA-7 every Saturday. He will start training for the Bradley fight next week in Baguio City.
He will then leave for the United States to step his training at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California.
Pacquiao is scheduled to defend his WBO welterweight title against the undefeated Bradley on the June 9 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
– Emmanuel Villaruel/Freeman News Services