Manny Pacquiao vs. Conor McGregor Targeted For 2021, Insiders Say

The highly anticipated Manny Pacquiao vs. Conor McGregor fight is reportedly planned to happen in 2021.

Former UFC two-division champ McGregor started the avalanche when he returned inside the octagon against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Ahead of his epic UFC comeback, the Irishman revealed that he is also planning to step inside the boxing ring once again. And while fans think that a rematch with undefeated champ Floyd Mayweather Jr is a no-brainer, McGregor teased everybody by revealing that a fight against Pacquiao was once negotiated and he is still considering it to actualize soon.

McGregor’s call-outs quickly generated buzz and this was the topic on the recent “Big Fight Weekend” podcast episode of BigFightWeekend.com. The website’s senior writers were joined by veteran boxing insiders Barry Tompkins of “Showtime Boxing” and Steve Kim of ESPN.

Kim addressed the possibility of a Pacquiao vs. McGregor blockbuster showdown actually coming to fruition, as well as the timeframe for the fight. According to Kim, Pacquiao-McGregor is very likely to happen, and he was told that the plan is to finalize everything sometime in 2021.

“You know, I’m gonna be bold. I say that it happens next year in 2021. I’ve actually been told that’s the plan,” Kim revealed.

Kim then commented on how the eight-division title holder has been making progress in fighting McGregor. The veteran insider stated that Pacquiao could now be looking for a huge paycheck, and given his age, nothing could be safer and more secured than a fight with the UFC star.

“Now, look, Manny has a way of changing his mind quite liberally, but there’s a reason why he signed with this organization (Paradigm Sports of L.A.) Look, the ‘M’ in Manny stands for ‘Mercenary.’ He wants to make the biggest score. He’s probably searching now for events that can bring him 9-figure paydays. What else is out there that is considered relatively safe, that could procure that type of payday. From a theoretical standpoint, it could be Connor McGregor,” Kim pointed out.

Ever since McGregor’s successful UFC return, pundits have anticipated that he will be pushing hard for a boxing match against either Pacquiao or Mayweather. Despite being a world champion and extremely talented fighter, many believe that McGregor is just after the money and hype. One of the interesting comments about the fight came from A-grade boxing trainer Joel Diaz, who stated that Pacquiao and McGregor copying Mayweather’s idea is good for business.

“It’s good for business. They’re gonna copy Floyd Mayweather’s idea. Why not,” Diaz said.