Pacquiao better, stronger, faster next time

INCHEON – While others may try to hold him back, Manny Pacquiao has declared that he will fight another day.

And when he does, the 46-year-old Hall of Famer will make sure he is better, stronger and faster than he was against Mario Barrios of Mexico last Saturday in Las Vegas.

“I will train harder,” said Pacquiao, who will face anybody, anytime, anywhere.

Running circles in the Pacquiao radar are Barrios, junior welterweight star Tank Davis, welterweight champion Rollie Romero and the elusive Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“I trained late for this fight (Barrios) because of the elections. Seven weeks are not enough,” he said.

Pacquiao, cramps-free, looked extraordinary in his first fight in four years. He wants to train for three months even if two months to two-and-a-half would be more ideal.

Depending on whom you talk to within Team Pacquiao, his next fight could come in October, November or December.

“I see him doing one more fight this year,” said Sean Gibbons, the president of MP Promotions, who does a lot of things for Pacquiao.

“He wants to train longer for his next fight. He can train for 12 weeks. Tama na ’yun,” said David Sison, one of Pacquiao’s closest aides and a running companion in training.

“He will scatter the training to avoid a burnout. Maybe the first few weeks will all be for running to build his stamina. Wala muna ang gym. Puro takbo muna,” added Sison, an American who speaks fluent Filipino and Bisaya.

“Ang ganda ng kondisyon niya ngayon. He wants to maintain that. He doesn’t need another layover,” added Sison.

Before 13,107 fans at the MGM Grand, Pacquiao moved better inside the ring than what his critics thought, and came so close to making history as the oldest welterweight champion.

But his fight with Barrios, who used his size advantage to the limit, ended in a controversial majority draw. One judge had the Mexican winning, 115-113, and two others at 114-114.

Barrios, from San Antonio, Texas, kept his WBC welterweight crown and can’t wait for a rematch with Pacquiao – and another seven-figure purse.

If he gets the call.