Pacquiao not retiring yet; Floyd Jr among candidates for next bout

We have not yet seen the end of Manny Pacquiao, the great boxer. The Filipino boxing sensation categorically denied that he’ll retire from boxing for good and concentrate instead on his new job as congressman of the province of Sarangani. “Yes, I will continue to fight," he said when asked of his future plans following a dominant win over Mexico’s Antonio Margarito in their super-welterweight title fight at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. By allaying the fears of his fans worldwide that he may finally hang up his gloves, Pacquiao further flames the slim hope among many that a long-awaited showdown with unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. will finally be sealed. The 31-year-old southpaw said Mayweather Jr. is just one among the prospects he and promoter Bob Arum will consider for his ring return next year. “I’m not afraid to fight anybody," he said. “I don’t want to talk about Floyd Mayweather Jr. If there are negotiations, I leave it to Bob Arum since my job as a fighter is to train in the ring. “Besides, I’m going back to the Philippines and return to work in Congress." The prospective duel with Mayweather Jr. had already been shelved twice in the past as Arum’s Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, which represents the 1996 Atlanta Olympian, can’t seem to agree on various contentious issues, ranging from drug testing to purse split and fight venue. But despite all the apparent trouble of putting up the bout the world obviously wants to see, Arum is not excluding Mayweather Jr. from any equation, putting him alongside Sugar Shane Mosley and Pacquiao's long-time nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez. However, Pacquiao also has to talk to his mother Dionisia about any more fight plans. The matriarch has long been prodding her son to retire from boxing, and was only coerced by the Pacman to allow him to fight for the last time against Margarito. Pacquiao’s mother was at ringside for the Cowboys Stadium fight when she suffered an anxiety attack just as the title bout between her son and Margarito was heating up. But Top Rank promoter Bob Arum assured everyone that Pacquiao's mother is now doing fine in a hospital. “She had an anxiety attack, but she’s perfectly fine. There’s no problem, there’s no danger, nothing. She’s perfectly fine," said the veteran promoter. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV