Floyd Mayweather has again raised hopes of a mega-fight with Manny Pacquiao by claiming he wants to stay active after Saturday's clash in Las Vegas with Miguel Cotto.
The 35-year-old has previously stated it is his intention to retire by the time he is 37, so with the clock ticking on what has been a glittering career for the seven-time world champion there is still that possibility - however small it may be - that he could take on Pacquiao and settle the long-running dispute about who is pound-for-pound king.
Tentative negotiations took place earlier in the year for the two to collide this weekend, but instead Pacquiao will take on Timothy Bradley on June 9 after claiming there was "no economic sense" in fighting Mayweather.
"If it really was all about Pacquiao then I didn't have to fight all 42 opponents," said Mayweather when asked about the possibility.
"All I had to do was come to the sport of boxing and fight one guy then I would have gone down as the best, just one guy. So I guess the 42 guys that I've faced didn't count.
"But I want to stay active, I want to fight again in 2012 before the year is up. I want to constantly go out there and test my skills and I want to continue to push myself to the limit. I still plan to retire at 37 - but I want to fight plenty of times before then."
However, even if he does successfully get past Cotto and extend his record in the paid ranks to 43-0, Mayweather must put his career on temporary hold and serve a 90-day jail term for domestic abuse which starts on June 1.
Mayweather intends to take his time in jail in his stride.
"You've got certain obstacles that get in your way throughout your career, but you have to be a strong individual. If anyone has followed my career they know that there's been a lot of obstacles and a lot of ups and down through my career.
"My thing is I try to turn anything negative into something positive. That's why when I go to the gym, when I see my family and I see my team and I see my fans come support me every day it's a motivational builder for me.
"So even when I go away, the only thing it can do is make me mentally strong and grow mentally strong as a person.
"It's all part of life, you have good days, you have bad days. But the main thing is to grow mentally."
