Anyway all water under the bridge who gives
a fook.
I’m boxing Manny Pacquiao next in the Middle East.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA)
September 25, 2020
Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. Former
Ultimate Fighting Championship two-division champ Conor
McGregor has his sights set on boxing again. In a lengthy string
of tweets from “Notorious” on Friday, McGregor posted several
text messages sent back and forth between UFC President Dana
White earlier this year. Among topics the Irishman discussed on
Twitter included his intent on fighting
UFC Hall of Famer Diego
Sanchez, his disinterest in serving as an injury replacement
and his desire to put on a blockbuster event. McGregor concluded
his series of messages by putting the sport on notice that he was
going to box again, and that his opponent of choice is all-time
great Manny
Pacquiao.
ESPN revealed shortly after McGregor’s Twitter posts that
“Notorious” was indeed actively negotiating to fight Pacquiao.
Audie Attar, McGregor’s manager, told ESPN that the intention is
for McGregor to face off against Pacquiao in either late December
or early January. The destination in mind is the Middle East, and
if the UFC is involved, the Flash Forum on Yas Island could be a
potential venue.
According to Attar, the UFC was interested in McGregor boxing
again, to follow the smashing success of McGregor taking on
Floyd
Mayweather Jr. in 2017. Although Mayweather knocked him out in
the 10th round, the pay-per-view sales were some of the highest in
the history of combat sporting events. This trip back to the boxing
ring would be another one-off, and the Irishman is considering a
return to the Octagon in 2021.
McGregor (22-4 MMA, 0-1 Box) previously fought in January, where he
knocked out Donald
Cerrone in 40 seconds at UFC 246. The bout was his first since
2018, when Khabib
Nurmagomedov finished him with a neck crank in the fourth round
at UFC 229. The championship bout with Nurmagomedov was his first
in MMA since 2016, as McGregor took time off from the sport to box
Mayweather.
All three judges awarded McGregor the first round, while judge
Dave Moretti also gave McGregor the second and third. The other two
awarded the remaining rounds to Mayweather until the stoppage in
Round 10.
Earlier in September, McGregor was taken into custody and
questioned on the island of Corsica under the suspicion of
attempted sexual assault and indecent exposure. McGregor and his
attorney denied the allegations, and he was not charged. This news
followed an unexpected drug test from USADA, where the drug-testing
agency went to his yacht to test him. Since McGregor was tested by
USADA, he still remains in the testing pool, which means that he is
not formally retired from MMA.
Pacquiao last competed in July 2019, where he became the first man
to defeat Keith Thurman, doing so by split decision. In the
process, Pacquiao won the WBA Super Welterweight title, a belt he
previously competed for in 2015 against Mayweather only to come up
short. According to
The Ring, Pacquiao is the first man in boxing history to win
the welterweight strap on four separate occasions. He is also the
oldest fighter to ever hold that 147-pound throne.
