After losing to Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match, Connor McGregor is now setting his sights on another feat, as he has taunted Filipino boxing champion Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao.
This time, however, McGregor seems to be playing safe as his goads toward Pacquiao have been a lot less aggressive compared to his previous shots at Mayweather. The Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) champion has stated in a video posted online, "I think a true fight is what I want to do next," when asked regarding his rumored boxing match with Pacquiao and the future of his fighting career.
McGregor has also made it clear that he wanted his next fight to be MMA and not boxing. Rumors of their matched surfaced after Pacquiao greeted McGregor for Thanksgiving back in November and when the boxer claimed that he will be fighting someone in Apr. 2018. Pacquiao even admitted that there were talks between him and McGregor's Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) representatives.
This even sparked some threats of a lawsuit from UFC president Dana White against Pacquiao since McGregor is under a contract that he cannot enter into any negotiations for a fight without the green light from the mixed martial arts body, and a boxing match is no exception. Still, despite this, fans of both champions were still hopeful that the two would fight in the boxing ring.
A source from Pacquiao's team has also alleged that they are still trying to make the fight a possibility, but it is not planned for Apr. 2018, and it might actually happen a lot later than expected. Pacquiao is more inclined to do a tune-up fight for his April slot, while McGregor regains his stature again in UFC. After then, perhaps the two might finally be able to face each other.
If all goes well between the two, fans of both may actually be able to see a fight by late 2018.
