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MANNY Pacquiao has responded to the latest jibes from Floyd Mayweather in their long-running, fight-free rivalry. The Filipino says he is currently splitting his focus between training for November’s bout against Chris Algieri and a forthcoming basketball cameo in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Mayweather, who beat Marcos Maidana earlier this month to retain his WBA and WBC welterweight titles, last week tweeted a montage of images showing Pacquiao on the canvas, accompanied by: “Miss Pac Man is broke and desperate for a pay day. Your Pay-Per-View numbers are a joke.”

In reply, Pacquiao said: “I’m not affected by it. I pity him and I pray that some day he would change his ways. He should fear God.” To bolster his point, he then quoted a passage from Matthew 16:26: “For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”

The 35-year-old, who has held world titles in eight different weight divisions, is also registered as a coach and player for the Kia Motors team in his country’s domestic basketball league, and says he hopes to make an appearance on court: “I already talked to coach Freddie (Roach) that I am going to play in the PBA maybe just two to three minutes.”

A mooted fight between the two has never advanced beyond negotiations and in 2010 the failure to agree a match was named “event of the year” by Ring magazine. — The Guardian