Manny Pacquiao says he wants to fight until he's 45 years old ... and when he retires, the boxing star tells TMZ Sports he will seriously consider buying an NBA franchise.
The 40-year-old superstar has made a FORTUNE during his boxing career -- and says he feels he's got AT LEAST another 5 years of fighting before hangin' 'em up for good.
"I feel like young, like late 20s," PacMan says ... explaining that he still loves the sport and all of the training that comes with it.
Pacquiao -- who's fighting undefeated star Keith Thurman on Saturday -- tells us he feels blessed by God ... and plans to use his gifts as long as his mind and body hold up.
Part of Manny's training regimen is playing basketball for 4 to 5 hours a day ... seriously.
In fact, Manny's so obsessed with the sport, he bought his own semi-pro basketball league back home in the Philippines called the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).
FYI, Forbes says Manny has made more than $500 MILLION during his boxing career -- including a $26 million haul over the past year.
So, we had to ask if he had NBA ambitions and the boxer gave us an emphatic "Yes!"
Watch the clip ... Manny also says he thinks the experience with the MPBL would translate perfectly into NBA ownership -- so now, it's all about finding the right opportunity, the right price and the right team.