Thomas Gouard
It seems to be that Conor McGregor is the hottest thing in combat sports right now, since his fight with Floyd Mayweather. Along with boxing’s Oscar De La Hoya and a few others in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the most recent name to jump on the McGregor bandwagon is Manny Pacquiao? For what reason I am not sure, but you would think that Pacquiao would pursue his recently lost WBO World Welterweight title that he lost from Jeff Horn back in July, but apparently he has a different agenda with McGregor in his sights. Per, Omnisport, he revealed that preliminary talks have taken place regarding a possible bout with McGregor in 2018.
Pacquiao vs. McGregor does have potential to draw attention, but I doubt that it will be as big as the Mayweather vs McGregor fight, why? Because there was more at stake in the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight, such as Mayweather’s undefeated streak and some just wanted him to lose against the UFC hopeful McGregor, which did not happen. Both Mayweather and McGregor were also arguably top in their perspective combat sports, which seemed as though it was boxing vs. mixed martial arts at many times because other fighters in each sport were behind their fellow sportsman, along with fans on each sides.
Pacquiao vs. McGregor brings similar energy with both fighters representing their perspective sports, but different countries! However, Pacquiao is no Mayweather and Pacquiao did just come off a loss against Horn, so many of us may question if his skills have declined, and why is not he pursuing a rematch with Horn instead of McGregor. A fight against Horn makes more sense, unless Pacquiao is planning to make the McGregor fight his exit from the sport of boxing, along with a good payday.
For now, I guess we can assume that Pacquiao has his own agenda when it comes to pursuing this bout with McGregor, but one can only hope that they both give the fans what they ask for if it all plays out.
Pacquiao reveals initial talks to fight McGregor.” Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo!
I am no boxing enthusiast but just like any Filipino I do watch Pacquiao’s fights. However, I think that the guy should have retired a long time ago. He remains a good fighter and an excellent athlete. Just the same, I think that the matches he was getting lately were just so-so. He should hang that pair of gloves and just rest on his laurels. He needs not prove himself because he has already proven himself.
I definitely agree! Seems odd seing him in boxing matches nowadays because many of the fighters his age are retired. I would love to see him beat Jeff Horn to reclaim that title, then retire with it, but i doubt that Jeff would give him the rematch. Other than regaining and retiring, there ain’t nothing left to prove.