It doesn’t really look like the highly anticipated fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor is going to happen, but Manny Pacquiao is now offering an alternative. The WBO Welterweight world champion wants to get in the ring with the UFC star.
“I don’t know if they are taking it seriously. It’s on the news but I don’t know if it will happen,” Pacquiao told Fox Sports News 500 in an exclusive interview. “If McGregor will fight me in boxing, why not? But not in MMA. MMA is much different than boxing.”
“The fight can be at the 140-pound weight division. My normal weight when I’m not on training is just 141 or 142 pounds,” Pacquiao said.
Asked whether he thought McGregor could last 12 rounds with him, Pacquiao said: “I’m sure he will be moving around.
Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, was beginning to make movements to make the fight happen, but UFC president Dana White is not fond of Arum and shut it down.
“Listen, I love Manny Pacquiao,” White told Yahoo Sport’s Kevin Iole. “But I don’t love Bob Arum. “You can tell Arum to save his money and not make any calls over here because we aren’t doing business with him.”
It should also be noted that Mayweather’s dislike of Arum is one of the reasons his fight with Pacquiao took so long to happen.