Conor McGregor will box again and his date atop the boxing ring will be against Manny Pacquiao. This was the assurance given by Paradigm Sports Management chief Audie Attar, who speaks for both fighters for the planned mega-fight in 2021.

McGregor is coming out of retirement via his January 2021 rematch with Dustin Poirier and Attar indicated that following that UFC 257 main event, the next focus for the Irishman is the money-spinner with Pacquiao.

The executive added that as far as Paradigm is concerned, the negotiations for a McGregor vs. Pacquiao are already underway, and there are no compelling reasons to turn back. The Notorious will take care of the Poirier fight first then make another crossover from the octagon to the boxing ring.

McGregor has his first try at professional boxing in August 2017 when he duked it out with Floyd Mayweather Jr. The 32-year-old pulled off a surprising performance against his undefeated American foe but Mayweather eventually took control of the fight.

It ended in a TKO win for Mayweather but McGregor went home with a $100 million paycheck, his biggest purse to date. And there is a chance he could earn the same figures in the anticipated epic showdown with Pacquiao.

Attar said the fight is sure to push ahead as all parties, including the fans, want to make it happen, per the report from The New York Post.

"That is a fight that we're definitely going to make because both fighters want it, and there seems to be interest from the fans all around the world," said the Paradigm boss.

He acknowledged, however, that McGregor being tied up with UFC could potentially cause a problem to the McGregor-Pacquiao fight. Ideally, Dana White could opt to co-sponsor the boxing match, as what happened with the McGregor vs. Mayweather, but the UFC president has yet to express interest in playing a lead role for the even to see realization.

And the signs coming from White so far have been discouraging. When McGregor took to social media a few months back to announce his intention to meet with Pacquaio in a boxing duel, the UFC chief warned that McGregor could be dealing with legal problems.

The position taken by White on the matter seemed unsurprising. According to MMA Junkie, the UFC boss wasn't too welcoming with the suggestions in 2017 that McGregor can take on Mayweather. But the showdown pushed through and it turned out a blockbuster with the UFC playing an active role.

In the end, the McGregor vs. Mayweather made all the parties involved several million richer with the income generated, and White was then a happy man. He could be smiling again if the McGregor vs. Pacquiao would prove a rousing success, and with him at the front and center of everything.