Manny Pacquiao enjoys the privilege of picking his next ring opponent and the eight-division world champion seems more inclined to duke it out with Conor McGregor, with the slugfest possibly taking place in 2021. For the fighting Filipino legislator, it's more realistic to face off with the UFC superstar.
Pacquiao's stance on the matter was made public courtesy of Jayke Joson, the boxing legend's chief assistant. Joson said Pacquiao prefers a showdown with McGregor as it appears to be the demand of many boxing fans.
The senator can still meet on the ring the current boxing champions like Terence Crawford but as Joson made clear, proving he can still win over a titleholder is no longer a motivation for Pacquiao. The Team Pacquiao representative said his boss is not out to impress the world, at least not anymore.
"Other fights like Spence or Crawford are no longer realistic. The senator has been a world champion of those belts and nothing to prove anymore in his career," Joson told The Philippine Star.
He stressed that the focus is now McGregor and Team Pacquiao is packaging the match as "a dream fight that everybody wanted to see."
The team likewise admitted that the Pacquiao vs. McGregor is a money-spinner and will deliver a big paycheck to the Filipino fighter. Pacquiao stands to earn at least thrice the amount he pocketed in his last three bouts if the prizefight with McGregor pushes ahead.
And win or lose, the boxing icon will not renege on his promise to allot a sizeable portion of his purse to charity, Pacquaio has pledged to help out the Filipinos affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and camp vowed that the promise remains true.
Now while Team Pacquiao appears settled on the showdown with McGregor in 2021, the Irishman is on the same page, and that's according to his manager, Audie Attar.
Attar said The Notorious right now is deep into preparation for the UFC rematch with Dustin Poirier on January 23 next year but after that, the focus will be on meeting Pacquiao atop the boxing ring.
He added that McGregor has no other big 2021 plans aside from the big Pacquiao fight. Certainly, the UFC superstar has no intention to box with YouTube stars, the manager said, clearly throwing shade on Floyd Mayweather's decision to return to the ring against popular vlogger Logan Paul.
"I don't see why it shouldn't happen. As we saw in 2020, you can never count anything out any more, but right now the intention is for that to happen in 2021," Mirror reported Attar as saying.
The exact date of the Pacquiao vs. McGregor is not yet set in stone but the Filipino has recently signed a deal with Paradigm Sports, McGregor's management outfit, that is seen to set the stage for the mega-fight to happen in 2021.
