Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao insists he still has plenty to offer the sport despite his duties as a senator in his native country.
The WBO welterweight champion recently signed to fight former Australian Olympian Jeff Horn at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane in July.
He touched-down in the country yesterday to promote the bout and speaking to the gathered media, he claimed he is still a force to be reckoned with and was looking forward to entertaining the fans in July. "I'm not going to predict the fight," he said, adding: "But I will do my best to entertain the fans. I'm very excited to fight here, I've fought a lot of fighters in the states. This is new, I'm excited.
"I can't wait for the fight, to defend my crown and prove that I'm still there in boxing, despite of my ambitions in office as a senator, I'm still handling my boxing career. I'm still there. I'm not done yet in boxing," he added.
Pacquiao is boxing's only eight division champion and had looked set to fight Amir Khan in the Middle East but the finances for the bout never materialised. There is speculation that the pair will meet in November in the US later this year instead.
Horn is largely unheralded in boxing circles but will enter the ring with an undefeated record of 16-0-1.
Manny Pacquiao in action against Jessie Vargas. Picture by: Xinhua/SIPA USA/PA Images
Ireland's Michael Conlon is likely to be on the undercard with a spokesperson from Top Rank confirming to Newstalk.com that "it is being discussed and agree that it would be great to have him on it."
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