Boxing boxing champion Manny Pacquiao will face two-time UFC champion Conor McGregor in the ring next year as part of a fight against coronavirus victims in the Philippines, Pacquiao’s office said Saturday.
The two men are “preparing for an epic last boxing fight,” said Jacques Josen, a special assistant to Pacquiao and a senator from the Philippines.
McGregor tweeted after Joshan’s statement, in which the Irishman said it would be “the next boxing Xing Pacquiao in the Middle East.”
“We don’t deny it,” Jason said.
McGregor said on Twitter in June that he was retiring for the third time. He first left the UFC in April 2016. In March 2019, he announced again that he was hanging up his gloves, but on both occasions retirement was short-lived.
McGregor lost 10 rounds in the Junior Middleweight “Superfight” in Las Vegas in August 2017, giving boxing to Pacquiao’s longtime rival, multiple world champion Floyd Mayweather.
The 1-year-old Pacquiao is the only person in boxing history to win world titles in eight different categories. He beat Keith Thurman to win the WBA Welterweight Super Championship in July, setting his record 62-7-2 with 39 knockouts.
Negotiations between Pacquiao and representatives of McGregor are “starting to move forward”, Joseon said, adding that “a large portion” of Pacquiao’s earnings will go to those affected by the epidemic.
The number of coronavirus cases confirmed in the Philippines on Saturday has exceeded 300,000, while the death toll has risen to 5,284.
The Philippines has the most confirmed Covid-19 infection in Southeast Asia and is the second leading cause of death in the region, next to Indonesia.
