Manny Pacquiao seeks to end boxing career with a bang, but Timothy Bradley has other ideas

The thought of retirement can be a preoccupation for a boxer who has one fight left. For Manny Pacquiao, there’s also the element of pride.

Pacquiao, 37, could have opted to end his career after losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr. by decision in May in the richest fight in history.

Instead, Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 knockouts) accepted a $20-million guaranteed purse to fight former two-division champion Timothy Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs) of Coachella Valley for a third time in a nontitle welterweight bout at MGM Grand on Saturday night.

In his last fight, Pacquiao aggravated a shoulder injury that curtailed his typical aggressiveness and firepower. After surgery on his right shoulder, Pacquiao went into a sort of retirement and was seen on social media vacationing around the world.

Like Mayweather, who has retired, Pacquiao might have decided to enjoy his earnings ($150 million) or focus on the May election for one of 12 senate seats that he’s seeking in the Philippines.

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Boxer Manny Pacquiao does sit-ups during a workout at the Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Boxer Manny Pacquiao hits a punching bag during a workout at the Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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A poster of boxer Manny Pacquiao hangs at the Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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A member of the Pacquiao camp watches Manny during a workout at the Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Boxer Manny Pacquiao takes a break during a workout at the Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Boxer Manny Pacquiao hits a punching bag during a workout at the Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Boxer Manny Pacquiao hits a punching bag during a workout at the Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Boxing trainer Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao share a laugh after a workout at the Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Boxer Manny Pacquiao prays after a workout at the Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Boxer Manny Pacquiao is mobbed as he leaves a workout at the Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Boxer Manny Pacquiao drives though a crowd of fans after a workout at the Wild Card Boxing Gym in Los Angeles.

  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

“I still have that desire. I love boxing. Boxing’s my passion,” Pacquiao said Wednesday. “I started when I was 12 and haven’t stopped. My family’s always begging me to retire, especially my mother.”

He said his wife, Jinkee, “respects my decision, knows my feeling.”

Pacquiao says Saturday’s bout might be his final time in the ring since the work of a senator is far more demanding than his current duties as a congressman.

“My decision to quit in boxing is not about the money. It’s about my heart, my feeling, my family,” Pacquiao said. “I cannot say I’m going to come back. After this fight, I will decide. I will return to help my people. But right now, I can’t say what the feeling of being retired is … I’m not there yet.”

Pacquiao’s decision to tough it out against Mayweather after his shoulder injury in April 2015 in training-camp backfired when the Nevada State Athletic Commission rejected his request for a prefight pain-relieving injection. Pacquiao then lost strength in the shoulder while hitting Mayweather with a combination of punches in the fourth round.

Pacquiao said Monday that the idea of landing a powerful left-handed punch that knocks out Bradley, who hasn’t been down in either of their two fights, is on his mind even if he hasn’t knocked out an opponent since 2009.

“He maybe worked a little bit harder than usual,” said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer. “I said, ‘Let’s go out with a bang.’ That’s what we intend on doing.”

For Bradley, who was hurt by the outcry after a disputed split-decision victory over Pacquiao in 2012, the response was to make his next bout a war.

Against hard-hitting Ruslan Provodnikov in 2013, Bradley opted for a toe-to-toe fight, absorbing blows to the head and going down in the 12th round before winning by a narrow decision. The close call led Bradley to hire Teddy Atlas, a more defense-minded trainer.

Two years ago this month, Pacquiao won a rematch with Bradley by unanimous decision.

“Being prideful can sometimes harm you instead of fighting humble and in control,” Bradley said. “I’m expecting [Pacquiao] to be the aggressor. He’ll come out like a bat out of hell, trying to take my head off. I just have to mind my Ps and Qs.”

Roach said he doesn’t sense that Pacquiao is obsessed with knocking out Bradley.

“We’re professionals, we’re not going to make that mistake,” Roach said. “We’re not going to go looking for a knockout. Knockouts just come.”

Bradley said he’s certain Pacquiao “wants to ride off on white horses in a carriage with his wife, riding off into the boardwalk, or wherever they’d go.”

For Pacquiao, that likely would be a hero’s welcome in the Philippines.

“When boxers say it’s [their] last fight, most of them are lazy in training and they don’t have the focus or eagerness,” Pacquiao said. “For me, it’s different. It’s really important for me to win this fight convincingly. That’s part of my legacy in boxing. I love to fight. I love to win.”

Follow Lance Pugmire on Twitter: @latimespugmire