Manny Pacquiao, Filipino boxing legend, is keeping his fingers crossed to finally have the chance next year to duke it out in the ring with his rival, American boxer Floyd Mayweather.
“I’m crossing my fingers, hopefully that fight will happen by next year,” PacMan told reporters from AFP during a promotional trip to Hong Kong.
“I’m crossing my fingers that that fight will happen but right now my mind is already set to focus on my next fight with Algieri. I think the time to talk about that issue is after the fight,” he added.
Boxing fans the world over have long awaited the fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather; largely considered as this generation’s greatest boxers. The former is an eight-division world champion, while the latter remains undefeated.
The rivalry between the two fighters has gotten heated in the past months, with Mayweather recently posting pictures of Pacquiao’s losses; and Pacquiao retorting that his rival was just an “okay” fighter, and that he should stop “blabbing” and face him in the ring.
The fight has been hindered by differences between the promoters of both sides.
When asked if he plans to retire anytime soon, Pacquiao, 35, said: “I’m not thinking yet about retirement. I will continue my boxing career, the journey will continue in my boxing career and we’ll see what happens,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao is busy training for his November 23 World Boxing Organization welterweight title defence against former kickboxer Cristopher Algieri.