Conor McGregor's manager claims UFC star will box Manny Pacquiao after Dustin Poirier fight
After months of buildup, it seems Conor McGregor and Manny Pacquiao are likely to meet next year for their boxing match.
Both athletes are represented by the same manager, Audie Attar of Paradigm Sports Management. He had told ESPN earlier in September that there were "serious talks" of the fight happening sometime in December or January, and that UFC was already on board with the idea.
In a more recent interview with Bloomberg, Audie Attar spoke about a potential timeline for the high octane boxing match.
Conor McGregor and Manny Pacquiao both interested in the fight
Conor McGregor and Manny Pacquiao's manager Audie Attar was asked whether PacMan vs. McGregor was something that was scheduled for next year. Attar responded that both the fighters are interested in making the fight and a lot of fans around the world are also invested in it.
So, it is something that is definitely going to happen.
"As it relates to Manny Pacquiao and Conor McGregor, Conor has a fight on January 23 against Dustin Poirier. He will be handling business against Dustin first. But, Conor has come out and said he wants to fight Manny, Manny has come out and said he wants to fight Conor. As I stated publicly before, we have had conversations. So, that is a fight we are definitely going to make because both fighters want it and there seems to be an interest from the fans all around the world."
As Audie Attar said, Conor McGregor is currently preparing for the January 23 fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 257. Dustin Poirier would want to avenge his first-round knockout loss from 6 years ago, while Conor McGregor would certainly want to repeat the same results, possibly in even lesser time.
Dustin Poirier had already signed his fight contract. Reports of Conor McGregor signing his agreement broke out yesterday, making the fight official.
If the boxing match happens, it wouldn't be the first time Conor McGregor went after a legend of the sport. His previous boxing match, everything that led up to it, and the money everyone involved made from it is pretty well known in the combat sports community and beyond.
Conor McGregor survived ten rounds with Floyd Mayweather in 2017 before getting knocked out, and still made quite a fortune from it. The match with Manny Pacquiao is likely to grab similar eyeballs from around the world, if not more, especially if Conor McGregor goes into it with a win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 257.