Manny Pacquiao sends fight message to Conor McGregor

By Boxing News - 01/17/2020 - Comments

By Allan Fox: Manny Pacquiao responded to Conor McGregor’s talk of wanting to fight him in the boxing ring by giving him encouragement for his fight this Saturday night against Donald Cerrone. McGregor stated this week that he’s interested in fighting Pacquiao, and that discussions have been “ongoing.”

It’s safe to say the only reason Pacquiao would choose to fight McGregor at this point is for the payday, because he’s done nothing to deserve a fight. McGregor lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. by a 10th round knockout in his boxing debut in 2017, and he’s not competed in the sport since. Even in McGregor’s own sport of MMA, he’s only fought once in the last three years in losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018.

Pacquiao gives McGregor encouragement

“Good luck, Conor. Good luck on your fight on Saturday night. Do all your best,” said Pacquiao on social media to McGregor in wishing him luck for fight against Donald Cerrone.

“After that, if you want to get a proper fight,, it would be good to see you,” said Manny Pacquiao Promotions president Sean Gibbons to McGregor.

Unfortunately, fans would see a fight between Pacquiao and Irish fighter McGregor as a money-grab on their part, and not a fight that has any real sporting purpose. It’s painfully obvious that McGregor wouldn’t have a chance against Pacquiao. There would likely still be a lot of fans that would be willing to purhcase the Pacquiao vs. McGregor fight on PPV for the two of them to make a lot of money. However, the entertainment value would surely be horrible for fans.

McGregor’s poor engine would be a problem

For starters, McGregor’s engine was so poor in his fight with Mayweather that he gassed after just 3 rounds. It takes a long time for fighters to develop conditioning in boxing. You don’t just pick it up in your late 20s, and think you’ll be able to fight a 12 round bout.

Pacquiao is capable of fighting hard for 3 minutes of every round, and he would easily exploit McGregor’s conditioning problems once he tires after 2 or 3 rounds.

McGregor says he’s been working on his boxing skills with coaches, and sitting down more on his shots. He says he’s improving, and he’s positive that he WILL win a world title in boxing.

That would be impressive if McGregor did capture a world title, because generally it requires a lot of experience in the sport for fighters to win world titles. You don’t get too many people coming from other sports, and then capturing world titles after just one or two fights in the pro ranks.

McGregor talks Pacquiao and Mayweather fights

“That’s a tough one,” said McGregor when asked at a news conference this week if he’s take a fight with Pacquiao over a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. “I’d love the Mayweather rematch. For what was in front of me, I felt I did very well. I thought with some slight adjustments, I’d have done even better.

“So now I feel I could take that victory,” said McGregor. “If Manny Pacquiao talks have been ongoing. For me, an aspiration of mine is to win a boxing world title. I think that would be a phonenal feather in the cap. That’s something I look to achieve in the future, and that’s something I will achieve.

“I’m back with my boxing coaches. They sat me down on my punches, and cleaned up some things,” said McGregor. “I’m very confident in my boxing abilities, and it would be an honor to be back in my boxing. Who knows? Maybe I will,” said McGregor.

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