The boxing legend Manny Pacquiao believes that Conor McGregor underestimated Dustin Poirier in their fight at UFC 257.
Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor has stated that a fight with eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao could happen in 2021 but seems like ‘Pac-Man’ has lost interest in it. McGregor competed in an MMA bout last Saturday at the Etihad Arena on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, in a fight that could have catapulted him to the top of the division.
However, the No.2-ranked lightweight, Dustin Poirier put McGregor against the fence, beat him to the floor, and then left him bloodied, defeated, and concussed on the canvas midway through the second round of a wild fight.
McGregor vs Pacquiao not happening anytime soon
After McGregor lost to Poirier via second-round TKO, however, interest in the matchup has waned.
“It looked like Conor looked past Dustin and got knocked out,” Manny Pacquiao’s manager Sean Gibbons told The Sun. “Maybe he had the Senator on his mind. I think the demand for the fight is not there presently. Conor has some business to clean up and handle in the UFC,” he added. “It’s a bummer, it could have been fun for as long as it lasted.”
While Pacquiao and his team are surely disappointed to have missed out on a blockbuster boxing match with McGregor, who remains one of the biggest stars in combat sports, they have already found a new and compelling challenge in the form of lightweight star Ryan Garcia.
“Losing is part of the game. In sport there are winners and losers, that’s all. It is not about defeat, but about how you accept defeat in your life. How you get over that difficult time in your life,” Pacquiao told ABS-CBN News (via BoxingScene.com).
“McGregor had already beaten his rival before and I think that made him underestimate him.”
It’s great advice from Pacquiao, who himself has suffered several notable upset losses during his incredible boxing career, including a brutal KO to rival Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012 in the fourth fight between the two. So if anyone knows a thing or two about bouncing back from a brutal loss, it’s Pacquiao. After losing that fight to Marquez, Pacquiao won eight of his last 10 fights inside the boxing ring.
Not only did McGregor lose to Poirier, a loss which dropped him back to No. 6 in the UFC lightweight rankings, but he also lost out on a potential boxing super fight with Pacquiao, at least for the time being.
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