Conor McGregor’s potential showdown with Manny Pacquiao ‘in doubt’ after Dustin Poirier KO with Pacman ‘in talks with Ryan Garcia’ over a return to the ring… despite Notorious claiming their fight was ‘almost a certainty’
- Conor McGregor lost to Dustin Poirier on his UFC comeback on Saturday night
- Notorious could face another setback as he is set to lose a Manny Pacquiao fight
- Pacquiao in in talks to take on WBC lightweight star Ryan Garcia, say reports
- McGregor claimed that a contract for the Pacquiao fight in 2021 was imminent
Conor McGregor is set for another career blow as a potential showdown with Manny Pacquiao looks in doubt with the Filipino boxer reportedly in talks with Ryan Garcia.
Irish MMA fighter McGregor made his return to UFC on Saturday night after retirement but lost out to lightweight rival Dustin Poirier via a second round knockout.
During his time away from the Octagon, Notorious claimed to make significant strides in his return to boxing with a planned 2021 fight with 42-year-old Pacquiao in the Middle East.
Conor McGregor lost in UFC on Saturday and is set to lose a Manny Pacquiao fight deal too
Reports claim Pacquiao (left) is in talks to fight WBC lightweight champion Ryan Garcia (right)
But according to The Athletic, Pacquiao is set to snub an immediate challenge with McGregor in favour of a match-up with 22-year-old American Garcia, who currently holds the WBC lightweight title.
The report claims talks between Pacquiao and Garcia are at an early stage. The contest would see the Filipino return to the ring for the first time since claiming the WBC (Super) welterweight title against Keith Thurman in the summer of 2019.
Discussion of a Pacquiao-Garcia fight comes just days after McGregor believed a contest with the 42-year-old was edging closer.
The Irishman admitted he is prioritising his MMA career for the time being but claimed a contract for the Pacquiao fight was imminent this week.
McGregor (right) lost in his UFC comeback to lightweight rival Dustin Poirier (left) on Saturday
McGregor told Sportsnet: ‘It’s almost a certainty. I’m hearing there’s a contract and all coming… it’s that close.
‘We haven’t (spoken) but it should happen in 2021. But I want to get my MMA game going a bit more as well.’
McGregor has taken part in just one professional boxing match – against the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr back in August 2017.
The Irish fighter was defeated in the tenth round via technical knockout but still took away around £95million from the fight despite the loss.
McGregor is hoping for a return to the boxing ring after his 2017 defeat to Floyd Mayweather
Back in September, it was revealed that a fight against McGregor would see Pacquiao’s earnings go towards victims of the coronavirus pandemic. The boxer also works as a Senator in his native Philippines.
Pacquiao himself has also spoken of his desire to face McGregor and is confident it will happen in 2021.
When asked about the possibility of fighting McGregor, Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford, Pacquiao outlined his options and how it would help in fellow countrymen in the process.
‘They’re my options, but right now I want to experience fighting an MMA (mixed martial artist),’ Pacquiao told Filipino news outlet BusinessMirror, referring to McGregor. ‘I will also donate a big portion of my income to Filipino COVID-19 victims.’