Manny Pacquiao confirms next fight will probably be his last

Filipino boxing great Manny Pacquiao, a winner of world titles in eight different weight categories, said he is likely to retire from the sport after one more fight next year.

Pacquiao, 36, last fought in May when he lost to American Floyd Mayweather Junior in a long awaited bout between the sport's best two fighters, dubbed the Fight of the Century, that failed to match the hype.

Pacquiao underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff after the fight and had been expected to retire with little left to prove after achieving his long-stated goal of getting in the ring with Mayweather.

"I think I'm ready. I've been in boxing for more than 20 years," he said in an interview with ABS-CBN on Wednesday.

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The Filipino said he wanted one more bout but it is unlikely to be against Mayweather, who has announced plans to retire after beating Andre Berto in September to improve his record to 49 wins and no losses.

"We can not say if there is a rematch or not. It depends, it depends," Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao's long-term manager Bob Arum said last month he expected Pacquiao to fight again in February, with Briton Amir Khan and American Terence Crawford among the possible opponents.

[STORY: Manny Pacquiao 'to retire next year', says Bob Arum]

The Filipino southpaw, who boasts a fight record of 57 wins, six losses and two draws, said he wanted to focus more on his political career.

Pacquiao is already a member of the country's lower house of representatives and announced plans on Monday to run for a seat in the senate next year.

Amir Khan (Reuters)

Image credit: Reuters

KHAN CONFIDENT OF BEING MANNY'S LAST HURRAH

We reported earlier in the week that Manny looks likely to take on Khan next Spring,

The reason Khan's chances now look good is because Lucas Matthysse, who was believed to be the most likely opponent for Pacquiao, was destroyed by a 10th round flurry in his bout this weekend against Ukraine's Viktor Postol.

That fight in LA gave Postol the WBC super lightweight title, and apparently knocked Matthysse out of the running to face Pacquiao.

"Khan has switched his attention to Pacquiao after being left at the altar for three times by Floyd Mayweather," writes Powell.

"His desire to challenge the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world before he retired left Khan kicking his heels in-between fighting only three times in the last two and a half years.

"Repeatedly, Mayweather veered away from apparently promised fights with Khan. On the last occasion, two months ago, Mr Money switched to the comparatively innocuous Andre Berto for what he announced as his retirement bout."

In addition to Amir and the aforementioned Crawford, Khan's fellow British fighter Kell Brook has also been mentioned as a possible opponent by tabloid experts, as has US fighter Timothy Bradley.

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