Sports briefs

BOXING

Pacquiao says he’s almost fully healed

NEW YORK - Manny Pacquiao said Monday that his surgically repaired shoulder is 80 to 90 percent healed and he expects to resume training in November or December, with a return to the ring in March.

Pacquiao acknowledged that Amir Khan was a possible opponent, but added no determination had been made.

Pacquiao had surgery on his right shoulder four days after he lost by unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in boxing’s richest fight ever in May. Mayweather says he’s retiring, though Pacquiao recognizes that in boxing, those vows don’t always hold up.

“If you ask me, of course, I want a rematch,” Pacquiao said. “I heard that he retired already. If he really retired, then there’s no rematch. But if not...”

Pacquiao injured his shoulder three weeks before the fight. He later said he aggravated it in the fourth round, when he landed some of his best punches of the night against Mayweather.

“He kept moving around and didn’t want to fight toe to toe with me, exchanging punches,” Pacquiao said Monday.

Asked if he could change that in a rematch, Pacquiao said, “I think so, especially [after] I fixed my shoulder.”

Pacquiao, a congressman in the Philippines, was in Manhattan to be honored with the Asia Society’s Asia Game Changer of the Year Award.

He is running for the Philippines’ 24-seat Senate, a national position that has been used as a springboard for vice president or president.

SUMMER GAMES

Boules makes its bid for the 2024 Olympics

PARIS - The sport of boules has launched a bid to be included in the 2024 Olympics.

The Bowls Sports World Confederation, which is recognized by the International Olympic Committee, is campaigning on behalf of three disciplines: the French petanque, the Boule Lyonnaise and the Raffa, a version of the game popular in Italy.

According to the international world games association, about 20 million people regularly play boules in France and Italy, and more than 2 million players are licensed in 150 other countries.

Under new IOC rules, Olympic host cities can propose the addition of one or more sports to their games.

Paris and Rome are among the five cities bidding for the 2024 Games, along with Los Angeles, Budapest and Hamburg.

The objective in boules is to roll heavy balls as close as possible to a small target ball. AP