Manny Pacquiao Talks Next Fight, Crying for Filipinos Following Defeat
Manny Pacquiao, 34, is ready to get back into the boxing ring. He recently spoke about the status of his health following a knockout defeat at the hands of longtime opponent Juan Manuel Marquez last December.
Pacquiao, a Filipino pugilist and congressman, recently spoke about his desire to return to the ring before the end of 2013.
"Tell [the fans] to be patient. Bob Arum (promoter of Top Rank boxing) and myself have been talking and will continue talking," Pacquiao said in a Manila Examiner report. "What is definite is they'll see me fight again come September. Not April nor immediately after that as speculations are going. Tell the public that it won't be long before I make them happy again when I fight."
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Pacquiao has been vocal about his devout Christian faith and thanked fans for their prayers following the knockout defeat that had some worried about his health.
"Tell them, too, that I appreciate very much their concern over my well-being when I lost by a knockout to Marquez and during the debate whether to fight in April," Pacquiao said in the Manila Examiner report. "I treasure their concern and prayers that I recover quickly from my knockout loss. I want everyone to know that I am well and fully recovered. Thank you very much for everyone's prayers."
The Filipino fighter recently admitted to shedding tears after he witnessed fans in distress following his loss to Marquez.
"I tried to control my emotions right after the fight but when I was alone in my room, I decided to view some of the TV footages of the reaction of my fans to my loss," Pacquiao told Philboxing.com. "When I saw that people were sad and crying, I felt so sorry that I failed them and I cried … If only I could embrace them one by one and tell them that I was sorry that I let them down, I will do it."
Still, Pacquiao said he is willing to face Marquez once again in September if his opponent chooses to do so.
"I don't choose easy fights. I will fight anybody, anytime, anywhere. If he doesn't want to fight me then I don't want to fight him either," Pacquiao said in the Manila Examiner report. "So be it. It's that simple. He says he doesn't want to fight me because he won our last fight? Well, I am still ahead in the tally of our last four fights. I won two, lost one and drew one."
