Manny Pacquiao's representative said Conor McGregor might have been hitting the whiskey when he tweeted that they'd fight soon
- Manny Pacquiao, 41, a senator of the Philippines, could return to the boxing ring in a mega-fight involving Conor McGregor.
- McGregor tweeted Friday that he would be boxing Pacquiao next in the Middle East.
- Pacquiao's representative Sean Gibbons laughed off the suggestion it had all been agreed, implying that the Irishman may have been drinking when he tweeted.
- But in a Team Pacquiao statement to CNN Philippines, it seemed an agreement might not be far off as Pacquiao wants to donate the fight proceedings to help toward COVID-19 relief in his home country.
Manny Pacquiao's representative Sean Gibbons said Conor McGregor might have been drinking when he tweeted that they'd fight soon.
On Friday, McGregor said he'd re-enter the boxing ring with a blockbuster bout involving Pacquiao.
"I'm boxing Manny Pacquiao next in the Middle East," McGregor tweeted.
Speaking to Boxing Scene, Pacquiao's representative Gibbons joked that McGregor might have been sampling his own branded whiskey, Proper no. Twelve.
"This is Conor cracking into the Proper Twelve whiskey a little early today," MP Promotions president Gibbons said. "It's Conor being Conor."
McGregor started the year with a thumping, 40-second victory over Donald Cerrone in January, a bout in which he stunned the American with nose-bloodying shoulder strikes and a head kick.
Though the Irishman had previously said he would fight thrice in 2020, he has yet to return to the UFC Octagon, and instead announced an abrupt retirement from the fight game, citing boredom.
Talks involving a Pacquiao vs. McGregor mega-fight are nothing new.
Ahead of the Cerrone bout at the start of the year, at a press conference Insider attended at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, McGregor told reporters that "talks [with Pacquiao] have been ongoing."
He said. "An aspiration of mine is to win a boxing world title. It would be a phenomenal feather in the cap and is something I will achieve."
Gibbons told Boxing Scene on Friday: "It's something that's been talked about over the last year and it's something I think could happen one day.
"The senator is going to fight again in 2021. He's absolutely looking to fight and Conor McGregor is on the list of guys the senator could fight.
"If the fight ever did happen it would be a huge global event between two global superstars. But it's a long way from [coming to fruition]. This is just Conor playing around right now, wishful thinking."
Though Gibbons said a McGregor match has not been agreed, a statement given to CNN Philippines implied it might not be far from being signed off.
"Our lawyers are finalizing all the confidential details, but both fighters are getting ready for this one epic last boxing fight," the statement read.
Insider reported in the pre-pandemic days that a Pacquiao vs. McGregor event could generate $250 million.
CNN Philippines reported that a significant part of Pacquiao's earnings from the bout would go towards those in his region affected by the coronavirus.
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