With his boxing career closer to the end than the beginning, Manny Pacquiao is cherishing each appearance in the ring.
The sport's pound-for-pound champion, who has won world titles in eight weight classes and produced a 52-3-2 record with 38 knockouts in his amazing 17-year professional career, has said he isn't planning to fight much longer. Maybe another year, two at the most.
If Pacquiao, 32, has a definitive date to retire, he hasn't indicated it. He usually speaks about his boxing future in general terms. But tonight's WBO welterweight title defense against future Hall of Famer Shane Mosley at the sold-out, 16,000-seat MGM Grand Garden is one of the biggest of Pacquiao's career.
Yet Pacquiao said he has bigger challenges than beating Mosley.
"The biggest fight is not boxing," Pacquiao said. "My biggest fight is to end poverty in my country."
Pacquiao, who serves as a congressman in his native Philippines, is trying to use his celebrity to bring attention to a worldwide problem. Symbolic of his sympathy to the cause, he will wear yellow boxing gloves tonight. Pacquiao explained that yellow is a symbol of unity in the Philippines, and he wants everyone to get behind him in his cause to eliminate poverty in his homeland.
"All my life, I've had to fight," he said. "As a child, I had to fight to eat. Poverty is a big problem, not just in my country but around the world."
He has given countless dollars to strangers who have knocked on his door in need of assistance. As a congressman, he's trying to build subsidized housing to get the homeless off the streets.
As a world champion fighter, Pacquiao knows as long as he remains successful, his star will continue to shine bright. Earlier in the week, it was announced that he had signed a deal to be a spokesman for computer giant Hewlett-Packard. He will make about $22 million for tonight's fight and possibly more, depending on the number of pay-per-view buys on Showtime. (Mosley is expected to make about $6 million.)
"It's important to maintain my legacy," said Pacquiao, who has won 13 straight fights since Erik Morales beat him in 2005. "But I also want to get better."
Pacquiao is a heavy favorite tonight, but he is convinced he will need to be at his best to beat Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs), a four-time world champion in three divisions.
"I haven't felt this much concern since I fought (Oscar) De La Hoya," Pacquiao said, referring to his Dec. 6, 2008, technical knockout of the Golden Boy. "He is similar to Mosley."
One big difference, Pacquiao said, is he has no disdain for Mosley as he did for De La Hoya.
"(Mosley) is a true gentleman. I like that," Pacquiao said. "I'm so happy there has been no trash talk for this fight. It's a good example for the children who idolize the fighters.
"When I fought De La Hoya, he wrote on a boxing glove, 'I'm going to knock you out.' I don't know why he felt he needed to do that. But that made me angry."
And since Pacquiao probably isn't going to fight undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. anytime soon, he can reserve his anger for another day. Pacquiao has a defamation lawsuit pending against Mayweather, who has accused him of using steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. He also has besmirched Pacquiao's heritage in a viral rant posted on YouTube last year.
"I don't know if we're going to ever fight," Pacquiao said. "But if we don't fight, I'm satisfied with what I have accomplished in boxing."
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