Thursday 21 September 2017 14:29, UK
Manny Pacquiao is 'not finished yet' and could return with a rematch against Jeff Horn or American star Terence Crawford, says his long-term trainer Freddie Roach
The 38-year-old multi-weight world champion was urged to retire after he suffered a shock points defeat against Australian Horn in Brisbane in July.
But Roach hopes to convince Pacquiao to take a second fight with Horn, although the Filipino has other options, including a clash with Crawford, the current unified super-lightweight champion.
"I do want him to take the rematch with Jeff Horn," Roach told Sky Sports. "That would be, I think, the best fight for him at this point and it looks like that might happen next year, early next year.
"We've got other offers to fight Crawford and some other guys. He's close to the end yes, but he's not finished yet though.
He's close to the end yes, but he's not finished yet though.
"He is still very dedicated, he works really hard and he puts 100 per cent into training every day when we're getting ready for a fight."
Asked if Pacquiao should fight on after avenging the Horn loss, Roach added: "No, I would like to see him retire after that fight because being a senator and a professional boxer is way too much.
"It's two jobs that are very, very demanding. I would like to see Manny concentrate on being a great senator and then maybe a great president someday."
Miguel Cotto, another Roach-trainer fighter had been mentioned as a possible opponent for the Gennady Golovkin-Saul Alvarez winner, but last weekend's draw led to calls for a rematch.
Roach has called for an investigation after Adalaide Byrd's controversial score of 118-110 for Alvarez, but still believes Cotto can land a fight with either Golovkin or Alvarez.
"It turns a lot of people off when they get a score like that," said Roach. "Something needs to be done. The commissioner said he can live with her score and I say maybe there should be a little investigation and a little progress to see where she got that score from."
Referring to Cotto's future, he said: "We are discussing that every day. At this point, we're getting offers from HBO and right now we haven't made a decision yet, but it could be one of the two fighters that fought the other night.
"I wouldn't mind fighting either one of them at this point."
Golovkin's promoter Tom Loeffler confirmed with Sky Sports that Cotto would "definitely" be considered as an opponent, if they choose to fight this year before a potential rematch against Canelo.
