It’s not yet cast in stone but don’t be shocked if Manny Pacquiao ends up having Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) superstar Conor McGregor as his dancing partner in April 2021 somewhere in the Middle East.
McGregor, however, can’t afford to look beyond an assignment in the octagon in late-January either in Abu Dhabi or Las Vegas.
The slugging Irishman locks horns with Dustin Poirier in UFC 257 in what will likely send McGregor into a faceoff with the Filipino eight-division champion in a boxing match.
A victory should finally allow McGregor to make some noise and drumbeat his crossover clash with Pacquiao.
Getting the two in the ring could be easily done since they have the same managerial team: Paradigm Sports.
Before the world plunged into a lockdown owing to the coronavirus, there had been talks about Pacquiao resurfacing against McGregor.
The last time Pacquiao fought, he turned back the hands of time with a masterful decision win over previously undefeated Keith Thurman in Las Vegas in July 2019.
Now that US promoters seem to be having a hard time staging huge cards on American soil involving a full audience, talks are rife that such mouthwatering matchups like a Pacquiao-McGregor duel can take place overseas.
The Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi is being eyed as a venue to hold the Pacquiao-McGregor headliner, but Doha in Qatar and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia are also in the running given their enormous wealth.
Pacquiao told Daily Tribune recently that if everything falls into place, he could see action twice in 2021, first in April and the second one in September.
With Floyd Mayweather dilly-dallying and opting to figure in a freak show against a YouTube sensation instead of a real fighter, Team Pacquiao is not expecting much from the Money Team regarding a possible rematch.
As Mayweather makes it clear that he doesn’t want to have anything to do with Pacquiao, the 42-year-old fighting lawmaker is looking elsewhere and the brash McGregor, 32, suits him fine.
A McGregor showdown looks enticing that one of Pacquiao’s top aides is drooling with excitement.
“If this fight happens, it would be something we’ve all never seen before and I am sure everyone’s going to remember it for the rest of their lives,” Jayke Joson said.
Knowing McGregor’s knack for the outrageous and the outlandish, Joson said he can’t wait to see the Irishman take care of business in January.
