MANILA – A rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. remains uncertain but one thing Manny Pacquiao is sure about is that he will get into another bout inside the ring.
Pacquiao said he was set to seal “this week” another match that will happen, tentatively, this December or in January next year.
The Filipino ring icon has yet to discuss the conditions, details and schedule of his supposed rematch with Mayweather, who will reportedly arrive in Manila this week.
“Aayusin pa. Pag-uusapan pa. Gusto niya (Mayweather) bumalik e. Gusto niya agawin daw belt ko,” Pacquiao said Monday. “Basta ma-finalize this week iyong next kong laban with Mayweather or with somebody else.”
Pacquiao, who currently holds the WBA welterweight world title, said they were also in talks with the camps of former sparring partner Amir Khan, Terrence Crawford and Adrien Broner.
Pacquiao admitted it was Mayweather himself who pitched the rematch when the two met at a concert in Tokyo on Saturday – more than three years since their first encounter.
“Malaking laban iyan. Iyon lang, nagtagpo kami ni Mayweather sa Japan, grabe na iyong reaction ng mga fans. Sabi niya, ‘Easy fight, easy fight.’ Sabi ko, ‘Let’s get it on and get back to the ring. I have the belt,’” Pacquiao said.
He cannot say for certain when exactly his next fight will be as he will also be busy as a senator in the coming months, with the budget deliberations lasting up to December.
“Isa rin iyan sa considerations natin. Titignan natin na ’di maapektuhan ang trabaho natin (bilang senador). Madaming trabaho ngayon dito. May break naman ng October so titignan din natin,” he said.
Mayweather and Pacquiao first faced each other on May 3, 2015 at MGM Grand Garden Arena where the Las Vegas native won via unanimous decision./PN
