Manny Pacquiao Confirms Talks Have Begun For Conor McGregor Boxing Match

It’s currently unknown if Conor McGregor will ever return to the UFC to finally defend one of his titles, and based on his recent outside-the-cage-troubles and obsession with boxing, it may stay that way.

Nearly every aging name in the sweet science has called out for a boxing match with “The Notorious” since his tenth-round TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather on August 26, a fight where the Irishman made an alleged 0 million, and that includes Mayweather’s former rival Manny Pacquiao. The decorated Filipino great recently teased that he wants to square off with McGregor, but not many gave it much credit.

But Pacquiao insisted it could indeed become reality today, telling reporters that he had opened talks with McGregor’s team as reported to news wire service AFP (via Yahoo!):

“If we can negotiate it, I have no problem. It is OK with both of us.”

Asked if he and his team had been getting into specific details on when such a mega fight would happen, Pacquiao said that the sides had made an initial meeting but it had not progressed any further:

“Initially, but we have not yet had any follow-up conversations,” Pacquiao said.

So some opening talks have been had, but the fight appears to be far from a certainty as of right now. Pacquiao also stressed that the fight would have to come during his recess as a member of the Philippine Senate and that he could face a number of potential opponents in Malaysia, Dubai, or Macau:

“It depends who they can finalise as my opponent by April.”

McGregor has one boxing match, a stoppage loss to one of the best all-time, while Pacquiao is a decorated former champion of an alarming eight divisions who also had his own rivalry and battle with Mayweather, losing an uninspired decision to “Money” in boxing’s so-called ‘Fight of the Century’ in May 2015.

”’The Notorious’ has been making headlines for anything from outbursts such as his Bellator 187 scene where he shoved referee Marc Goddard and slapped a security guard to galavanting about town with singer Rita Ora, but next to nothing is known about when he’ll return to the Octagon or if he ever will. With a payday like the one he made for facing Mayweather, there is a legitimate chance he never does.

And while another boxing match with an aging legend who’s out of his prime may seem like a ridiculous prospect given he’s yet to defend a UFC title, there’s little doubt the fight would be a massive pay-per-view success based on the rumored numbers Mayweather vs. McGregor garnered.

Are you in any way interested in seeing McGregor face off with ‘Pacman?’