Fighting Conor McGregor remains the realistic match for Senator Manny Pacquiao next year since he has nothing to prove anymore as a well-decorated boxer.
Pacquiao’s special assistant Jayke Joson said the eight-division world champion has beaten younger fighters like Adrien Broner and former world champion Keith Thurman.
With these accomplishments, Pacquiao needs something bigger than boxing.
“Senator loves his fellow Filipinos and he likes to entertain them by fighting not only the best but what the people want—and that’s UFC star Conor McGregor,” Joson said.
“They deserve a bigger fight like this or should I say this dream fight,” he added.
Pacquiao, who has a 62-7-2 win-loss-draw record with 39 knockouts, can arrange a mouthwatering fight against elite welterweight champions, including unified International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Council (WBC) Errol Spence Jr. and even reigning World Boxing Organization Terence Crawford.
But Joson said Pacquiao — the defending World Boxing Association welterweight world titleholder — has already cemented his legacy in the sport and a fight against Spence or Crawford “are no longer realistic.”
“Pacquiao versus McGregor is a dream fight that everybody wanted to see,” he said.
“The senator has been a world champion of those belts and has nothing to prove anymore in his career, so we need something big like McGregor,” added Joson.
Pacquiao’s business manager Arnold Vegafria said the senator’s main priority right now is to help his fellow Filipinos in these desperate times. And it is obvious that Pacquiao, he said, can generate more money to help the people by fighting McGregor than anyone else like Spence or Crawford.
“You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. Senator MP’s fight with McGregor will generate more funds to help his fellow Filipinos. It will give him the biggest payday in his last three previous bouts. A fight against the other boxers will not give him that kind of amount,” Vegafria said.
According to various online news reports, McGregor’s previous bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr. three years ago had earned him $130 million while Mayweather got $280 million.
McGregor has always been a supporter of Pacquiao particularly his good deeds. In fact, he did the same thing in his hometown in Ireland during this pandemic, when he donated medical supplies to hospitals and provided help to those homeless people.
Pacquiao — who will be celebrating his 42nd birthday next week — has been engaging in different fights against the best boxers for more than 20 years.
Now, Pacquiao, not only a super athlete but also a public servant, stays committed in his early promise to donate a portion of his purse against McGregor to Covid-19 victims.
“That is something he will never forget — help his people the best he can,” said Joson.
The Pacquiao-McGregor bout managed by Paradigm Sports Management President Audie Attar could happen by next year in Dubai.