'He's not done yet," says Roach

People's champ, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, said he will be back again next year and ready to fight as early as April against anybody, including a possible fifth showdown with Mexican warrior and "Champion of the Decade," Juan Manuel Marquez.

This, Pacquiao declared a day after suffering a sixth round knockout loss to Marquez in their welterweight collision -- the fourth chapter of their exciting rivalry at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao said a fifth fight would also give the Mexican warrior a chance to even up their slate which currently stood still in his favor at 2-1-1, win-draw-loss record.

"Puede, puedeng magkaroon ng fifth fight, lamang pa rin naman ako sa kanya 2-1-l. That will again be a good fight which boxing fans will love to see. I will give him again a chance na makatabla," he told sportswriters gathered around inside the bus that brought him, his wife Jinkee and the team back to Los Angeles on Sunday.

Pacquiao looked well and jolly as if nothing happened despite his defeat, the fifth in a 60-fight, 17-year professional career.

Pacquiao was pronounced out of danger by attending physicians at the University Memorial Hospital in Las Vegas where he was rushed and confined for a few hours to determine if there is damage on his brain due to the impact of the blow that floored him for the second time in the bout.

"Tuloy pa rin tayo, wala namang nangyaring pinsala. I was winning sa mga judges. Sayang nga, in fact, I was about to finish him off with only a second left of the sixth, kaya lang natiyempuhan ako," he said.

"I was sorry for the loss, but that's part of the game. Sports yan eh. Ganyan ang sports, may mananalo at may matatalo."

Pacquiao said he feels sad for losing, "but at the same time happy because I know by the way the fans were cheering during the fight that we were able to make them happy, which actually is what I would like to see whenever I fight."

"Basta gusto ng fans, gusto ko rin," he said.

Pacquiao recalled that after sending Marquez down the canvass in the fifth to even things up following his similar fall in the third, he knew that he will soon dominate and emerge victor.

"When the sixth round started, I knew I had him already. He was breathing badly because of the blood oozing from his broken nose," he said, but reminisced his similar KO defeat to Rustico Torrecampo in the early stage of his career.

Pacquiao said he faked with his right twice and about to follow up with a left but was stopped on his tracks by Marquez right hand, which was what exactly happened during his fight with Torrecampo.

"Feeling ko bibigyan na lang siya ng isang round pa ng kanyang corner at ihahagis na ang tuwalya. Kaso nga nasingitan tayo. Pero babawi tayo, pasasayahin natin muli ang mga tao," he said with his usual wide grin.

For the moment, Pacquiao said he will take a brief respite to spend some quality time with his family and attend to some pending work in Congress.

NOT RETIRING

Freddie Roach reiterated that his prized ward will not retire yet.

"I don't think it's the end of Manny Pacquiao," Roach said in the post-fight press conference, according to an ABS-CBN Online report.

Roach admitted that he was disappointed. "Our strategy was working very well. I thought we were controlling the fight. But he got a little careless.. He never saw it coming. It was a two-inch punch," Roach said.

"Manny was swinging a little bit wild and we got caught. It was a great knockout," he added.

But Roach admitted that Manny is facing a complicated future in boxing after such loss.

"We have to settle down a little bit, absorb it. The possible retirement, the possible rematch... I'm not sure which way we'll go right now. It depends on what he feels and what he wants to do," he said.

"If I see good signs, we'll go on, and if I see bad signs, we won't," he added. "If he's back in the gym and I see signs of him declining, I’ll tell him to retire. If I don’t, then I won't tell him."

"He knows he made a mistake, and that happens in boxing," Roach said. "It's not the first time he's been knocked out. It's not the first time he'll come back from a loss."

FAITH

A day after losing, Manny was seen in high spirits. He reasoned, "It's not about the material things."

"Great victory is the life that we are in Christ. Yon ang pinakamahalaga. Fame and fortune, they come and go. Trust God, he has great plans. Kailangan lang ay acceptance," said Jinkee.*PNA/GMA/ABS-CBN