Conor McGregor is tipped for a fight date with Manny Pacquiao later this 2021 and boxing legend Evander Holyfield said it will be an interesting crossover encounter. The UFC superstar is considered the underdog of the boxing match but Holyfield said the result could still favor the Irishman if he plays it right.
It might appear a mismatch for McGregor to face off with Pacquiao, who boasts of eight world titles that include a WBA super welterweight belt. Holyfield said the MMA artist will need to work harder to avoid a repeat of his first boxing try, a losing effort against undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017.
The Notorious will clash with a world-class opponent in Pacquaio but Holyfield said an upset is not entirely impossible. For him to win, McGregor needs to make fighting adjustments and tilt the actual bout to his advantage from the get-go, said the former boxing champ.
"He has to keep Pacquiao to the side and throw the punches straight, which is going to be difficult. You're talking about fighting somebody who has been doing boxing their whole life," Holyfield told The Sun.
The 58-year-old also noted that McGregor has longer arms compared to the Filipino boxing icon so it will serve the Irishman well if he can leverage this reach advantage. The UFC star is used to grabbing and flipping his foes in the octagon, and he needs to use a different game plan for a more effective challenge of Pacquiao.
The McGregor vs. Pacquiao was first announced by the Irishman's camp in September 2020 and the two fighters signed an agreement shortly that paved the way for the mega-fight to push through. A definite schedule this year is yet to be announced but the details are expected to take shape once McGregor's UFC rematch with Dustin Poirier is over and done with.
Audi Attar, who is arranging the blockbuster showdown for the two fighters, is offering some clarity. He claimed that McGregor will surely meet Pacquiao on top of the ring and the bout is happening before the end of 2021.
Attar said the negotiations about the fight are going well and there is no reason to believe that it will not take place this year. That's because both fighters have signed on the deal and the boxing fans are already in anticipation mode. The pieces are gradually falling to their proper places and the picture will soon be completed, so to speak.
"When both fighters want that fight to happen, why wouldn't it happen? If the fans want to see it - that almost guarantees that it's going to happen, right? As there's enough interest to develop something there," Boxing Scene reported Attar as saying.
He added that the McGregor-Pacquiao playing out in 2021 is "inevitable" and it will be a shock if things will turn out otherwise.
