DPA/Manila

Two years after suffering what could have been a career-ending loss, Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao is gearing up for what he hopes to be his ‘most impressive performance.’
The 35-year-old eight-division champion faces unbeaten American boxer Chris Algieri on Saturday, whom he has described as ‘the most dangerous opponent’ of his 19-year career.
It will be his third fight since the humiliating upset by Mexican fighter Juan Manuel Marquez in December 2012, when Pacquiao was knocked out with one second left in the sixth round by a right to the jaw.
While Pacquiao briefly broke away from his training to play professional basketball for the first time in October, the father of five said he has been focusing on “being the best (he) can be physically, mentally and spiritually” for the fight.
“There are no shortcuts to victory,” he told the Boxing Scene. “I am sacrificing everything to defeat him, and produce not just a convincing victory but my most impressive performance.”
Boxing analysts said that while Pacquiao remains the barometer by which many fighters would have to be measured, the fight with Algieri is a must win for the boxer-turned-politician in the Philippines. “This is his road back to regain his stature as a big name in boxing,” said veteran sports editor Ignacio Dee. “He can dictate again on who he will fight. Right now, he can’t do that.”
Pacquiao has been pushing for a fight with Floyd Mayweather Junior, but the undefeated American boxer has been dismissing the Filipino champion especially after his loss to Marquez. In the fight with Algieri, Pacquiao is defending his WBO welterweight title that he wrestled from Timothy Bradley in a rematch in April.
“Manny will have to go for the kill, although not frantically,” said Recah Trinidad, a veteran sports columnist and analyst said.  “Everything will depend here on how much longer he will be fighting.”
Trinidad said that while Pacquiao announced that he wants to concentrate on politics and retire in 2016, he doesn’t see him hanging up his gloves that easily. “That’s a promise made to be broken,” he said. “He has grown so big.  He is responsible for so many things. He cannot just close shop. A lot of things, a lot of people are depending on him.”
Since his professional debut at 16 years old in January 1995, Pacquiao has won 56 fights and suffered five losses, with 2 draws. He has won world titles in eight divisions, cementing his place among the world’s boxing greats.
The southpaw fighter worked as a stevedore at a pier in his southern Philippine hometown of General Santos City before he left for Manila when he was 14 years old, hoping to find better work to help his mother raise five other siblings. In Manila, he began boxing and made it to the Philippines’ amateur boxing team.
Pacquiao soon became a household name in the Philippines, where his winning exploits in boxing has made him an idol among aspiring athletes and every Filipino hoping to make a better life for them. In 1999, Pacquiao, fondly called the “national fist”, also launched an acting career playing cameo roles in televisions variety shows and later on with lead roles in movies. He also dabbled into music recording.
Pacquiao embarked on a political career in 2007, winning a seat in Congress to represent a district in South Cotabato province. He later won as the congressional representative of Sarangani province in 2010 and 2013.
While he has been criticised for his underwhelming performance in Congress, where he is one of the representatives with most number of absences, Pacquiao is eyeing higher office and plans to run for the Senate in 2016. “There is a big possibility that I will run for senator,” he told a Manila radio station in July, discussing his plans to retire.
But Pacquiao said the upcoming fight with Algieri has boosted his passion for boxing. “I do not feel old,” he said in an article in the Boxing Scene. “I feel great and I find I am able to train as hard as I always have and I enjoy it. More importantly, I still enjoy boxing a lot.”
He stressed he has not set a date or age when he will retire, adding, “When I retire, I want it to be on my terms. I do not want to spend my retirement regretting that I walked away from boxing before I was ready.”
Pacquiao knows one thing for sure before he hangs up his gloves - to fight Mayweather “I do have one specific goal and that is to give the boxing fans the fight that they have always asked for,” he said. “I want that fight too.”