Manny Pacquiao vs Conor McGregor could take place in 2108
Manny Pacquiao has teased a match with UFC star Conor McGregor via social media. Pacquiao, who lost the WBO welterweight championship to Australia's Jeff Horn in June, wished McGregor a Happy Thanksgiving via Instagram, besides telling the Irishman to stay fit with the hashtags #realboxingmatch and #2018.
In August, McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC, 0-1 boxing) gave a good account of himself during his pro boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather Jr. (50-0 boxing). After suffering a 10th-round TKO defeat to Mayweather, the mixed martial arts fighter made it crystal clear that he would consider a return to the square circle.
While retired boxers Paulie Malignaggi and Oscar De La Hoya have already issued challenges to McGregor, a card headlined by Manny Pacquiao vs Conor McGregor has a lot more lucrative potential. Pacquiao (59-6-2) won both his fights in 2016 against Timothy Bradley (Apr. 9) and Jessie Vargas (Nov. 5), and many analysts felt that he had Horn defeated at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Despite his recent success, Pacquiao hasn't secured a knockout win since 2009, which adds intrigue to his potential bout against McGregor.
Could Manny Pacquiao vs Conor McGregor happen?
Australian promoter Dean Lonergan recently teased the idea of drawing Conor McGregor to Australia. “We’d love to have Manny Pacquiao down here (again), he’s certainly one of the guys on the table. There’s been some murmurings and rumblings that perhaps we could get Conor McGregor down here. I would put the challenge out to Conor McGregor — tell me how much you want it and we’ll see if we can make it work," Lonergan is quoted as saying by ABC.
Before the bout against Horn, Manny Pacquiao had assured a rematch clause for the WBO welterweight title. However, Horn is preparing to defend his championship against the UK’s Gary Corcoran (17-1) in Brisbane on December 13. Pacquiao has shown little interest in facing the Australian once again.
If Manny Pacquiao vs Conor McGregor takes place, it will likely go down as one of the most lucrative fights in combat sports history. During his loss to Mayweather, McGregor earned a guaranteed payday of US$30 million (AU$37 million) besides overall earnings in excess of US$100 million (AU$125 million). In 2015, a total of 4.6 million people paid to watch Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather, the most lucrative fight in history.
