Philippine boxing champion Manny Pacquiao will face former two-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor in the ring next year, and part of proceeds from the fight will go to coronavirus victims in his country, his office said on Saturday.
Both fighters are “getting ready for this one epic last boxing fight,” said Jayke Joson, special assistant to Pacquiao, who is also a Philippine senator.
Joson’s statement followed a tweet by Irishman McGregor in which he said that he would be “boxing Pacquiao next in the Middle East”.
“We don’t deny it,” Joson said of the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champ’s tweet.
McGregor announced on Twitter in June that he was retiring from the sport for the third time. He first quit in April 2016. In March 2019, he again announced he was hanging up his gloves, but on both occasions the retirements were…