Fighting Conor McGregor remains the realistic boxing bout for Senator Manny Pacquiao next year, hopefully at a time when the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is contained, since he has nothing more to prove as a professional athlete.
For Pacquiao’s special assistant Jayke Joson, Pacquiao has been a world champion in eight different weight classes and was able to beat younger fighters like Adrien Broner and former world champion Keith Thurman despite in his age (early 40s).
So Pacquiao needs something bigger than boxing, Joson explained.
“The 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. They (fans) deserve a bigger fight like this or should I say this dream fight,” said Joson.
In a story by Yahoo Sports journalist Kevin Iole last December 6, Pacquiao was said to be interested in fighting unified International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Council champion Errol Spence Jr. after his remarkable unanimous decision win over Danny Garcia, according to MP Promotions’ President Sean Gibbons.
But Joson said Pacquiao — the defending World Boxing Association welterweight world titleholder (62-7-2 win-loss-draw record with 39 knockouts)— does not need to fight the undefeated Spence to cement his legacy as one of the best ever fighters in world boxing history.
“Pacquiao versus McGregor is the dream fight that everybody wants to see. Other fights like Spence or (Terrence) Crawford are no longer realistic. The senator has been a world champion of those belts and has nothing to prove anymore in his career, so we need something bigger, like a fight with 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 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 with Floyd Mayweather Jr. three years ago earned him $130 million. Mayweather got $280 million.
McGregor is always a supporter of Pacquiao, particularly the senator’s 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 homeless people.
Pacquiao, who will be celebrating his 42nd birthday next week, has been engaged in different boxing wars fighting and winning 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 to COVID-19 victims in a fight against McGregor.
“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 next year in Dubai.