Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
Conor McGregor says that he’s going back to boxing, and will fight another legend in Manny Pacquiao.
Conor McGregor was very busy on social media today. He tweeted out some old texts between him and Dana White regarding a couple of different UFC fights that never came together. Then he dropped a bombshell – that he is going to box another one of the best pugilists of this generation, Manny Pacquiao.
Anyway all water under the bridge who gives a fook.
I’m boxing Manny Pacquiao next in the Middle East.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) September 25, 2020
It’s Conor, so normally you’d take anything he says with a few grains of salt. But according to ESPN, this is actually a thing. The fight isn’t booked as of yet according to Conor’s manager Audie Attar, but they are in serious negotiations. Attar also reps Pacquiao, and he stated that the Middle East is a possible location for the fight, but that hasn’t been decided yet.
Attar also added that the UFC was cool with the fight going forward, and that after the Pacquiao fight goes down, McGregor is looking to return to the Octagon.
McGregor (22-4 MMA, 0-1 Boxing) famously entered the boxing ring for the first time to take on Floyd Mayweather in 2017, which ended up selling 4.3 million pay-per-views, the second most ever for a sporting event. Conor was stopped in the 10th round by Mayweather.
Pacquiao (62-7-2) is a former eight-division champion, the most in boxing history. He’s 41 now, but still holds a WBA welterweight title and is on a three-fight winning streak, most recently taking a split decision over Keith Thurman in July of 2019. His only losses since 2013 came at the hands of Mayweather, and a very controversial decision loss to Jeff Horn.
If this bout does come to fruition, it will likely generate a very healthy amount of PPV buys. And a whole lot of hype.