Washed vs. Inexperience is fooking happening!
Thanksgiving morning, Manny Pacquiao hit up Instagram to randomly wish Conor McGregor a Happy Holiday, saying “Stay fit my friend. #RealBoxingMatch #2018.” With Manny coming off an embarrassing loss of his WBO Welterweight title to Jeff Horn, he’s looking to grab up a major pay day with The Notorious One. On paper, this looks like one of the sexiest match-ups fighting fans could imagine; selling the narrative of neither fighter running around the ring.
After gaining his biggest check to date this fall with boxing icon, Floyd Mayweather, McGregor is looking to pursue a career away from MMA and the UFC. Originally, he was in rumored negotiations with Victor Ortiz a few months ago; which would’ve been a warm up bout, before making a full-time transition to the sport. This new challenge from Top Rank and Manny to Al Haymon, Floyd Conor and UFC, has us confused at how it would actually turn a profit. Since Pacman is a humbled fighter and doesn’t trash talk, it would essentially be Conor promoting the entire fight by himself.
As McGregor would go on profanity-fueled rants against his opponent, Manny would just sit down and smile. The reason why the Mayweather and McGregor fight worked so well, was because two over-the-top personalities sold themselves as the kings of their sport. With HBO likely backing the bout, we’re certain sponsors are going to be dumping a ton of money into the event.
However, we have doubts that it’ll retain high-end revenue they’re expecting in spring 2018. Another interesting note is that Manny would likely have to go above the 147-welterweight class.
In his last fight, Conor barely made weight against Floyd at 154 last fall. We expect McGregor to jump up to 170 on this possible fight night, and we’re legit undecided on who could win. This means that both miss-matched fighters could create an in-ring circus, with having a shot at an early knockout.
So, going the distance is not expected in our opinion for either side. Look for HBO and UFC to aggressively move forward with this fight early next year, followed by a date.
Let us know in the comments if you’re interested in this fight.
Disclaimer: Floyd sold entertainment, Manny’s selling a boxing match.