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The Philippine boxing icon says that part of the proceeds from the boxing match will go to the victims of COVID-19 in his country.
Philippine boxing icon Manny Pacquiao will face former UFC two-weight champion Conor McGregor in the boxing ring next year, with part of the proceeds from the fight going to coronavirus victims in his country.
“For the sake of all Philippine COVID-19 victims, Senator Manny Pacquiao will fight UFC superstar Conor McGregor next year,” said Jayke Joson, special assistant to Pacquiao, who is also a Philippine senator, on Saturday.
“Our attorneys are finalizing all the confidential details, but both fighters are preparing for this last epic fight,” he said.
Joson’s statement followed a tweet from Irishman McGregor on Friday in which he said it would be “the next boxing with Pacquiao in the Middle East.”
McGregor, 32, announced on Twitter in June that he was retiring from mixed martial arts for the third time. He first left the sport in April 2016. In March 2019, he announced again that he was hanging up his gloves, but both times the withdrawals were short-lived.
McGregor lost to welterweight great Floyd Mayweather in a 2017 boxing match that made money spin [File: Valerie Macon/AFP]
Joson also said the fight could be staged in the Middle East after the coronavirus pandemic subsides, adding that Pacquiao would donate a “large chunk” of his proceeds to Philippine COVID-19 victims.
The Philippines has the most confirmed COVID-19 infections in Southeast Asia and the second-highest number of coronavirus deaths in the region, after Indonesia.
Total confirmed coronavirus cases in the Philippines topped 300,000 on Saturday, while deaths rose to 5,284.
The 41-year-old Pacquiao, whose speed and power belies his age, is the only man in boxing history to hold world titles in eight different divisions.
Pacquiao has not fought since winning the WBA welterweight crown with an impressive win over Keith Thurman in Las Vegas in July 2019, taking his record to 62-7-2 with 39 knockouts.
A fight against McGregor, who faced welterweight great Floyd Mayweather in a money-spinning 2017 bout, would guarantee Pacquiao another lucrative payday as he nears the end of an illustrious boxing career.
Despite his 10th round TKO loss to Mayweather on his boxing debut, McGregor had shown he was capable of challenging “the best fighters in the world,” Pacquiao’s promoter Sean Gibbons told the agency. news AFP.
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