The National’s Ahmed Rizvi spoke to Manny Pacquiao on Wednesday in Dubai, ahead of the superstar Filipino boxer’s Philippines Basketball Association game on Friday night. He made an appearance at the du store in Dubai Mall, where he was mobbed by thousands of his fans. Amid the din, he took a couple of minutes out to talk about his farewell bout and his political aspirations.
Swansong
Pacquiao, 36, has decided to make one final appearance in the ring, on April 9 next year in Las Vegas, before hanging up his gloves and a report in the British newspaper Daily Mail yesterday claimed he "has agreed terms in every last detail" for a fight against Amir Khan. The Pac-Man, however, denied it.
Nothing signed
“Nothing has been finalised because I didn’t talk to Bob Arum yet, but it is possible. It is part of our plans. We have Amir Khan, we have [Danny] Garcia, we have [Terrence] Crawford.
So it is not a confirmed deal? No contract signed?
Not yet. We are yet to finalise anything.
Who would you like as an opponent for your farewell fight?
I don’t know because there are a lot of names given to me by my promoter Bob Arum. One of them is Amir Khan.
Do you want to fight Amir Khan?
Of course. If there is no problem with the negotiations, then why not.
What’s left to achieve in your career?
I have already achieved what I wanted to achieve in my career. I just want to continue and maintain my name at the top of boxing. So, I want to finish my career with a win. That’s important to me.
Plans for life after boxing
This will be my last fight in boxing because I am now focused on serving the people in the Philippines. So no acting or singing or boxing after this last fight. My dream is to serve the people and I hope to achieve that.”
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