Manny Pacquiao's former opponent could face Conor McGregor next

What's the story?

Following his much-anticipated clash with Floyd Mayweather on August 27th, Conor McGregor's career has been on the up and up.

The Premier of Queensland, Annastacia Palaszczuk, who had initially been gunning for a rematch between former Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao and Australian boxer Jeff Horn, has now set her sights on roping in the Irishman to face off against Horn.

The Australian politician said, "If we could get McGregor, that would be great."

In case you didn't know...

In the 'Clash of Ages' between Mayweather and McGregor, the Irishman lost to the undefeated boxer, but he landed 111 punches on Mayweather, which was 30 more than Manny Pacquiao did during his 'Bout of the Century'.

However, Pacquiao had said that a shoulder injury had hampered his ability to challenge the American.

The heart of the matter

McGregor was name-dropped after Palaszczuk accused the Filipino boxer-turned-politician of being too scared to fight. Horn was awarded the win even though Pacquiao had landed twice the number of punches, so he demanded a rematch. The demand was supported by the World Boxing Organisation after an investigation.

While Mayweather, at 40, may have downed the 29-year old Irishman, Horn will also be no easy opponent, and has won 17 out of 18 bouts.

Palaszczuk told reporters that Pacquiao had a feeling that Jeff was the champion and that he was scared to face the Australian.

What's next?

Pacquiao had cited parliamentary commitments and duty to the Philippines as his reason for declining a rematch, however, Palaszczuk was not convinced easily.

Author's Take

Whether McGregor will take up the challenge, is anyone's guess but I feel that the Australian Premier's comments may be an attempt to goad Manny to accept the challenge.

McGregor vs Horn could be interesting and could truly show if McGregor can really box or if he should just stick to the MMA.