By Geno McGahee
It is sort of surprising that in 2020 that we are still looking for a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather, JR., bout, but the interest is there. There have been constant hints that Mayweather, JR., were going to make his comeback and that Pacquiao was the fight that he was going to have but it hasn’t materialized as of yet. So, who to fight now? Shawn Porter has been mentioned as a potential, but there is a fight that can make the PacMan a lot more money and with a lot less risk and that is the UFC star, Conor McGregor.
McGregor, 0-1, faced the 49-0, Floyd Mayweather, JR., in August of 2017 and actually did very well, having his moments and winning some rounds. Unfortunately, the history of McGregor’s stamina issues came to be the deciding factor and he would crumble in round 10. The MMA fighter walked away with the respect of the boxing community after that bout and now he is eying a return to the game and is looking at the Filipino superstar, and the bout seems to be coming together.
Pacquiao, 62-7-2, 39 KO’s, has been on the comeback trail at the age of 41, beating Keith Thurman and Adrien Broner, two quality fighters. The welterweight division is so stacked that a fight with the top of the division would be dangerous for the Filipino warrior. He would go into a fight with Terence Crawford or Errol Spence as a big underdog. Against McGregor, Pacquiao would be a decided favorite and would have the largest payday of his career since his faced Floyd Mayweather, JR., in their first fight. The added bonus would be a rematch with Floyd, if he beats McGregor in devastating fashion.
McGregor has some business in the UFC he’s taking care of currently, but the money that would go into a Pacquiao-McGregor fight would make the fight an easy bout to make and it would be a huge PPV draw, bringing in the UFC crowd and the boxing community and would bring in the mainstream, interested in the curiosity of the event.
Pacquiao should get into the ring with McGregor. It makes dollars and sense and would be a great way to cap his career should it not lure Floyd out of retirement. The other bouts with Porter or Mikey Garcia do not have the huge appeal as a fight with McGregor would. If all goes well, this fight could happen in 2020 and be a real fun event and good fight for both sports.
