Pacquiao hungry for rematch
MANILA: WBO welterweight world champion Manny Pacquiao said yesterday he felt like a young man in his twenties and would relish another crack at Floyd Mayweather.
The Filipino icon, 37, made a winning comeback from his brief retirement earlier this month and said he was in great shape to try to avenge his defeat to Mayweather last year in the richest fight in boxing history.
“I feel young. I feel like I’m just 25, or that I’m just 28 years old,” Pacquiao told ABS-CBN television.
Asked if he wanted to fight Mayweather again, Pacquiao said: “Of course, if he wants to come back [to] boxing”.
Pacquiao fuelled talk of “Pacquiao-Mayweather 2” when he invited the undefeated American, who retired in September 2015, to attend his successful comeback against Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas on Nov 5.
Last week, Pacquiao teased fans about a possible rematch by posting pictures on social media wearing a suit bearing photos of him and Mayweather in the lining.
But Mayweather, 39, said days later he had no plans to come out of retirement.
Pacquiao originally retired in May after beating American Timothy Bradley in a non-title fight before standing for and winning a seat in the Philippines Senate.
But he said he would not be stepping away from the ring again any time soon.
“I still believe in my skills. You just need discipline, how you discipline yourself and work hard,” Pacquiao said, adding he would only walk away once he no longer wanted to put in the long hours of training.
“Because once you get lazy, that’s the start of the decline of your performance and your body.”
Meanwhile, Argentina southpaw Jesus Cuellar will have gone a year between fights when he defends the WBA featherweight world crown against three-time former world champion Abner Mares, who ends a 16-month layoff.
But both fighters vow ring rust will not be an issue in their Dec 10 bout at Los Angeles, which could set the winner on a collision course with unbeaten WBA “super” featherweight champion Carl Frampton of Northern Ireland.
Mexican-American Mares, 29-2 with one draw and 15 knockouts, will be two weeks past his 31st birthday when he meets Cuellar, 28-1 with 21 knockouts and an interim champion or better in the weight class for three years.
The bout had been scheduled for March and then postponed to June after New York boxing officials were concerned about left eye surgery Mares underwent in 2008.
“I’ve been cleared in every other state since,” Mares said. “It was just a red flag for them because I had surgery done in 2008. We’re good to go. I have the same risk as any other fighter out there.”