Manny Pacquiao vs. Conor McGregor 2020: Fight between PacMan and Notorious could be more plausible than fans think, here’s why

It has been close to a year since fans and sports experts started speculating on who should be the next to challenge Manny Pacquiao. The Filipino champ has been paired with the biggest names in boxing’s welterweight division, but people should not forget that a fight between the senator and Conor McGregor made headlines several times this year.

Why a Manny Pacquiao vs. Conor McGregor match makes sense

After Pacquiao defeated Keith Thurman last July, the 41-year-old boxer gained more respect from fans, especially those who have dismissed his chances of winning considering his age. While there are visible changes to the way, Pacquiao fights from the years when he was knocking out opponents left, and right, the fact remains he won a title from Thurman and handed him his first L.

It is then only natural for boxing fans to see the Filipino do it again this year, hence, the persistent speculations for him to fight the likes of Errol Spence Jr., Terence Crawford, Mikey Garcia, and Danny Garcia among others. And based on Pacquiao’s previous interviews, it seems like this is also how he wants his next fight to be.

However, fans should also consider that Pacquiao is undeniably in the last chapters of his professional boxing career. The way he chooses his next opponent could be different from when his main goal is to dominate as many divisions as he can and collect as many titles as possible. As Pacquiao approaches the final stretch, the paycheck could be one of the most significant factors for him to consider, and that’s where a fight with McGregor could be more plausible.

Regardless of how other fans and fighters view McGregor, no one can deny his ability to sell tickets and PPVs -- even in a boxing ring. His first professional boxing fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. reportedly raked in 4.3 million PPV buys. That was the second highest-selling boxing PPV event in history, just around 300,000 buys behind another Mayweather fight from 2015 against Pacquiao.

How possible is a fight between the Pac Man and Notorious

McGregor lost to Mayweather in 2018 in a TKO in the 10th round, but that has not deterred the MMA star from wanting to try professional boxing matches again. The Irish fighter told Ariel Helwani last January he wants a rematch with the undefeated American boxer, but Mayweather is not the only on his boxing bucket list.

“I would be open to other boxing bouts. You know, Manny [Pacquiao],” McGregor said. “We're actually close to signing Manny.” The following month, Pac Man inked a deal with Paradigm Sports Management, the same company manages McGregor, so it naturally sparked the chances of seeing a boxing match between them.