Rumor has it that Senator Manny Pacquiao is considering a run for President of The Philippines in 2022. The election is in May of that year, which is 21 months from now.
That might mean the future Hall of Famer’s final fight or fights will take place in that window. And he doesn’t seem interested in fighting amid the coronavirus pandemic, which is hitting the Asian country hard at the moment. That could further shrink his window of availability to fight, meaning we might see only one more event involving Pacquiao, 41.
So who can we expect to see him face in that outing?
Jayke Joson, a special assistant and business partner of Pacquiao, believes the fighter’s fans in his home country have their eye on one prospective opponent.
“I have talked to nine out of 10 Filipinos and they really like UFC star Conor McGregor as the senator’s last opponent before he leaves professional boxing for good,” Joson told the Manila Standard, adding that those close to him also want him to fight only one more time.
“I think we will know about Senator Pacquiao’s plans in boxing as soon as the COVID-19 virus crisis is over. For the senator, this is not the time for a boxing fight. But now is the time for all Filipinos to unite in fighting and knocking out the coronavirus crisis in the Philippines.
“It’s really up to the senator when he will retire from boxing. But many Filipinos want our senator to take on McGregor because that will be a great fight.”
That matchup obviously makes sense from a business standpoint. Floyd Mayweather and McGregor generated 4.4 million pay-per-view buys and nine-figure paydays for the fighters in an August 2017 mismatch, which Mayweather won by knockout.
A meeting between Pacquiao and McGregor – both of whom have expressed interest in the fight – would be no more competitive than the novice McGregor’s initial foray into boxing. Pacquiao, coming off a victory over Keith Thurman in July of last year, could win more easily than Mayweather did.
Still, there’s no doubt the public would buy into it, meaning both would make a fortune.
Of course, Pacquiao could also face an actual boxer. Mikey Garcia reportedly had been a leading candidate to be his next opponent. After all, with so much money on the table, McGrgor, 32, will always be there.