According to one of Manny Pacquiao’s longtime coaches, it would make no sense for the boxing champion to welcome Conor McGregor back to the ring.
When Pacquiao signed with Paradigm Sports Management, the same agency as McGregor, earlier this year, talk of a potential showdown immediately surfaced. That’s only been strengthened by McGregor stating his desire to challenge another big name in boxing ever since his lucrative pay-per-view fight with Floyd Mayweather.
Justin Fortune, Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach, sees right through that and doesn’t think there’s any point to fighting McGregor.
“Why even make that guy rich?” Fortune told The Manila Times this week. “And it won’t do absolutely nothing for Pacquiao as far as his legacy (is concerned). Remember, this is just my opinion: Manny goes down as the greatest fighter in history when he finishes, because no one has done what he accomplished in boxing.
“Why destroy your legacy for a bum like McGregor?”
Pacquiao (62-7-2 boxing) has been considered one of the greatest boxers of his generation, as he’s the only man to ever win 12 major world titles in eight different divisions. Even at 41, a Pacquiao fight against 32-year-old McGregor, the former UFC two-division champion, would figure to be a mismatch.
Odds released on a hypothetical fight in February listed Pacquiao as a -250 favorite, with McGregor coming back as a +190 underdog.
McGregor tried his hand at boxing in August 2017 when he took on Floyd Mayweather in “The Money Fight.” McGregor surprised many with his performance in the early going but ultimately was dominated until he lost by 10th-round TKO.
But Fortune thinks a Pacquiao vs. McGregor wouldn’t even be that close.
“Manny will destroy Conor McGregor inside three rounds,” Fortune said. “He will obliterate him. Too fast and too strong as an amazing fighter. McGregor is nothing.
“I mean, my God, this is boxing; we are boxers. McGregor is an MMA guy, and we can’t do MMA, and he can’t box. That’s very simple.”
Pacquiao, who lost a 2015 decision to Mayweather, hasn’t fought since his split decision win over Keith Thurman in July 2015. McGregor, meanwhile, returned to MMA this past January at UFC 246, where he TKO’d Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds.
McGregor entered 2020 with talk of wanting to fight three times for the UFC. However, he surprised everyone with a retirement tweet in June. UFC president Dana White has acknowledged that announcement as being real.
