Almost anything is possible in boxing if money is involved. World championship fights staged in faraway lands to promote despotic regimes, hyped up contests between novice YouTubers and creaking legends scrapping in their fifties have all found a home in the ‘red light district of sports’ in recent times.
The circus has always been big business. Yet a boxing legend vs a UFC icon is nothing new. Floyd Mayweather stopped Conor McGregor in 10 rounds in August 2017 with ‘TBE’ appearing to carry the Irishman to keep the drama alive.
That fight generated in excess of $600 million so when McGregor tweeted that he was facing Filipino great Manny Pacquiao in the Middle East next year the bout made financial, rather than sporting, sense.
Over the weekend, Sean Gibbons, head of MP Promotions and respected Pacquaio insider, insisted a fight was far from done, but from the McGregor side it seems negotiations are progressing positively.
Talk of a Pacquaio vs McGregor boxing match is absolutely serious, according to the Irishman’s MMA coach John Kavanagh.
“I do know it’s in the works,” John Kavanagh told Boxing Productions TV. “I believe both boxers have agreed fundamentally. Behind the scenes there are a lot of terms and conditions and legal teams and managers to work out the fine details but I believe it will happen.
“I think it might be early next year but the wheels are in the motion and it looks like I’ll be coaching boxing again.
“I’ll play a part but it will be mostly Owen and Phil Sutcliffe, Conor’s long-time boxing coach from Crumlin Boxing. The bulk of the work will be done with those guys but I always have a hand in there.”
But Pacquiao’s long-time trainer Freddie Roach echoed the thoughts of most boxing fans when assessing a potential encounter with McGregor. “If this is true, Manny Pacquiao will have an easier time with Conor McGregor than when he fought Ricky Hatton,” tweeted Roach.
That won’t stop the circus rolling into town.