Pacquiao: I Willing To Fight Anyone, Not Ducking Anyone

Manny Pacquiao wants to prove he can still fight when he takes on Chris Algieri this weekend.

"I'm not predicting a knockout, but I'm looking for a good fight and looking to prove I can still fight," Pacquiao said in Macau on Tuesday. "I'm willing to fight anybody. I'm not ducking anyone."

Pacquiao did not need the huge bouquet he was holding to feel welcome in the gambling enclave where he will be fighting at an odd hour on Sunday (Macau Time) against an opponent who probably feels he has already won boxing's biggest lottery.

The former multi-division champion got the flowers anyway when he arrived in the lobby of the Venetian hotel-casino. He smiled and posed with the flowers because there's a fight to sell; something Pacquiao seems to be taking more seriously as his career begins heading into the later rounds.

There are also new rumblings along the Floyd Mayweather front, but more on that later.

For now, Pacquiao seems re-energised as he plots what he hopes will be a spectacular performance that might stop talk about his declining knockout power. He has not stopped anyone in five years.

A good victory this weekend might entice Mayweather to finally fight the Filipino next year in what would surely be the richest fight in history.

Promoter Bob Arum says there have been some preliminary behind-the-scenes talks to make the long-awaited fight happen. Whether it actually takes place, though, depends largely on Mayweather, who only recently indicated he may be more agreeable to make the fight than in the past.

Arum has had discussions with Leslie Moonves, head of CBS Corp, about the fight and is somewhat optimistic that the parent company of the Showtime network Mayweather is contracted to can help get it made.

"I believe they have talked to Mayweather and that he is on board," Arum said on Tuesday. "Whether that is true or not, I don't know."

Arum could be using the possibility of a Mayweather fight to spark interest in Pacquiao's second bout in China, which will start at about noon on Sunday to suit pay-per-view fans in the United States.

A fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather has been the talk of boxing for five years now, and nothing has come of it, mainly because Mayweather wants to control his own destiny and wants nothing to do with Arum, his former promoter.

Pacquiao could use a fight with Mayweather to revitalise his career and possibly cement his legacy as one of the top boxers, pound-for-pound, of his time.

But if he doesn't take care of business against Algieri in a fight in which he is heavily favoured, he may never fight Mayweather.

"Let's finish this fight first," the Filipino congressman said on Tuesday. "My job is to fight. I'm not picking opponents. Whoever wants to fight me, we will fight."

In Algieri, Pacquiao has an opponent who seems to have everything but a big punch.

The American is a promoter's dream: a college graduate with a master’s degree in clinical nutrition. He wants to be a doctor but he talks confidently about not only beating Pacquiao but making himself into a big name in boxing.

Algieri got the fight after getting off the canvas twice in the first round to win a disputed decision over Ruslan Provodnikov for a piece of the welterweight title in June.

Arum believes Algieri's story will help sell the fight, unlike Pacquiao's first fight in Macau last November. His bout against Brandon Rios did well at the box office but was not a pay-per-view smash.

"This time we're selling Algieri instead of trying to sell the fight as being from China," Arum said. "So far it seems to be working."