Legendary Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao is considering a historic fight against mix martial arts (MMA) star Connor McGregor as he plots to return to the ring.
Pro-Boxing promoter Sean Gibbons, president of MP Promotions, said that a fight between the eight-division world champion and Irish MMA champion McGregor would be a “tremendous global event.”
Pacquiao, 41, has not fought since claiming the WBA welterweight crown with a stunning victory over Keith Thurman in Las Vegas in July last year.
A bout against McGregor, who fought welterweight king Floyd Mayweather in a money-spinning 2017 fight, would guarantee Pacquiao another lucrative payday.
The promotor said that the two camps were a “long way” from agreeing a fight, but confirmed “it is (definitely) one of the fights being considered for the Senator’s return in 2020.”
“The idea has been brought up on a few occasions for Senator Pacquiao and Conor McGregor to fight,” Gibbons said, adding that McGregor had shown in his fight with Mayweather he was capable of challenging the best boxers in the world.”
Earlier Friday, McGregor, who has a long history of making outlandish claims on social media, had said on Twitter he was “boxing Manny Pacquiao next in the Middle East.”
“It will be a true honor to have faced two of the greatest boxers of the modern era,” he added.
Meanwhile, McGregor’s manager Audie Attar also confirmed talks about a Pacquiao fight were underway, with a possible December or January date in the Middle East under consideration.