Manny Pacquiao (left) and Conor McGregor. FILE Photos from AFP
MANILA, Philippines—There’s a big chance Conor McGregor’s bout against Manny Pacquiao could be happening soon, according to the Irish superstar’s coach.
In an interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Phil Sutcliffe said that McGregor could take on Pacquiao in a boxing match after his rematch against Dustin Poirier in UFC 257 this January 23 in Abu Dhabi.
“85-90 percent chance, maybe April, March,” said Sutcliffe. “March, April or May. I’d like him to be in a boxing camp for at least two months.”
Both Pacquiao, an eight-division World champion, and McGregor, a two-division UFC champion, have already agreed to fight other atop the boxing ring but the intricacies regarding fight’s business aspect have yet to be ironed out.
McGregor has one professional boxing fight under his name, and it ended in a technical knockout loss against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
A fight between the two is seen as a mega-money event since both are huge draws. McGregor’s bout against Mayweather already earned him $85 million.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, holds the biggest pay-per-view buy in sports history when his Fight of the Century main event against Mayweather drew 4.6 million buys.
Though McGregor wants to fight Pacquiao in the near future, his UFC boss Dana White wants his superstar to stay put inside the Octagon.
The UFC President said in an ESPN interview that it’s better McGregor to put off his boxing plans for 2022 and focus on MMA this year.