Floyd Mayweather Jr. finished Conor McGregor by TKO in the tenth round of McGregor’s professional boxing debut, but that hasn’t stopped other professional boxers like Paulie Malignaggi from trying to secure a date in the ring with the Notorious Irishman.
It seems like everyone wants a piece, and considering that any fight McGregor is in is now guaranteed to turn over millions of dollars in profits, it’s not a bad opportunity to be chasing.
This week's profit. pic.twitter.com/QhP2UgIYqk
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 27, 2015
Manny Pacquiao has now been added to the list of athletes who have called out the UFC champion. Pacquiao is world-renowned Filipino boxer, famous for his power, accuracy, and speed in the ring.
Manny Pacquiao on Thursday tweeted a photo of McGregor for Thanksgiving with the interesting hashtags “#realboxingmatch” and “#2018”.
The eight-division world champion is the second boxer this month to challenge McGregor. Earlier, Oscar Dela Hoya said he is willing to come out of retirement to fight the UFC star, even saying he can KO him in two rounds.
In the UFC, Tony Ferguson hungrily waits in the wings for McGregor’s eventual return, eager to take home the belt he has long seen as his own. McGregor has not fought in the octagon at all this year, having taken the first half of 2017 off in preparation for the birth of his first child, while the second half of the year was spent preparing for his boxing fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the eventual fallout that came with his loss.
Ferguson has done his bit to rouse the champion’s interest and recently took to Instagram (contains language NSFW):
But a recent controversy could also hamper McGregor’s return to the MMA ring, after McGregor stormed the cage at Bellator 187 to celebrate his friend and teammate Charlie Ward defeating John Redmond, pushing referee Marc Goddard and slapping an official in the process. The UFC has said that they had removed McGregor from the UFC 219 card, set for New Year’s Eve, as punishment for his actions, but that claim has been disputed by McGregor’s management.
McGregor’s first boxing match, dubbed as “The Biggest Fight in Combat Sports History,” ended in nine rounds in favor of Mayweather.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, suffered a controversial loss to Australian boxer Jeff Horn last July and hasn’t fought since.
What lies ahead for the UFC lightweight champion? Check out Manny Pacquiao’s call out below and let us know what you think!
