Pacquiao ready to fight after election triumph

MANILA - World boxing champion Manny Pacquiao said on Wednesday he was finally ready to fight Floyd Mayweather in the last professional bout of his career and potentially the richest in history.

Pacquiao made the announcement about the potential Mayweather clash, which US promoter Bob Arum said could take place on Nov 13 in Texas or Las Vegas, after winning a seat in the Philippine parliament.

"Many fans really want me to fight Floyd Mayweather so I asked my mama if we can give them one more fight and she said okay," Pacquiao said in an interview with broadcaster ABS-CBN.

"We spoke yesterday and she said just one last fight, Mayweather."

"Pacman", 31, is one of the world's highest-paid athletes and fans are clamoring for a clash with former champion Mayweather, 33, to determine who is the greatest welterweight of their generation.

Negotiations for a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight fell through earlier this year when the American insisted on Olympic-style random drug testing, which the Filipino rejected as too intrusive before a bout.

Pacquiao, the only boxer in history to have seven world titles in as many weight divisions and widely regarded to be the world's best pound-for-pound fighter, made no mention of the drugs issue in the television interview.

Pacquiao's mother, Dionisia, in her 60s, had been imploring him to retire from boxing.

And the launch of his political career - he secured a landslide win in national elections on Monday for a seat representing the southern province of Sarangani - appears to have pushed him towards acceding to her requests.

Arum, who flew to Sarangani to watch Pacquiao campaign for the election, told the Manila Standard newspaper he had reserved Nov 13 at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"The cable television companies and satellite providers have put the date aside for us, so the table is set," said the flamboyant Top Rank boss, adding a government title would be a boost for Pacquiao.

"I think this is a real plus and the confidence that it will give him to have this lifelong dream of being identified as a congressman when he's introduced at press conferences and in the ring is something spectacular."

Pacquiao was among dozens of celebrities who ran for positions, ranging from president to town councillor, in national elections across the boxing-mad Philippines, one of Asia's most boisterous democracies.

He is regarded as a national treasure in the impoverished Philippines, where even Muslim extremists and soldiers silence their guns during his fights.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 05/14/2010 page22)