PACQUIAO'S HANDLERS NEGOTIATING WITH MCGREGOR, BUT ARUM SAYS IT'S A NONSENSE
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 12 Dec 2017
Manny Pacquiao said his handlers have approached UFC superstar Conor McGregor for a fight in April, the time when the fighting senator takes a break from his legislative work. "If we can negotiate it, I have no problem. It is OK with both of us," Pacquiao said confirming reports that he was seeking a match with McGregor who engage and lost in a multimillion dollar boxing match in August against the undefeated former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather.
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Asked if he had already approached McGregor's handlers for such a fight, Pacquiao told Agence France Presse that initially, he had talked with McGregor's camp regarding the match, but they have not yet made any follow-up conversations. But Pacquiao said he heard that McGregor was willing to fight him after the encounter with Mayweather. Last month, Pacquiao posted a message to McGregor on Twitter and Instagram, saying: "Happy Thanksgiving! Stay fit my friend. #realboxingmatch #2018 @thenotoriousmma."
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Pacquiao stated that McGregor will just be one of the many possible options he faces when he makes a comeback since his loss to Jeff Horn. "It depends who they can finalize as my opponent by April," Pacquiao said, emphasizing that the schedule coincides with the Senate break. Other possibility will be a rematch with Horn or an encounter with Keith Thurman for his WBA Super welterweight title and the WBC welterweight title. Pacquiao also said his next fight might be held in Malaysia, Dubai or Macau.
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McGregor (21-3 MMA, 0-1 boxing) lost in his boxing debut to Mayweather but not before delivering a competitive stand. In August, Mayweather won by TKO in the 10th round. The cross combat showdown drew 6.7 million pay-per-view buys around the world, breaking the record set by Mayweather vs. Pacquiao in 2015, according to UFC President Dana White. McGregor received a smashing $100 million payday in his first pro boxing match.
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UFC President Dana White denied Pacquiao's assertion of any conversation occurring between the senator's team and that of McGregor. But he also made a very stern legal warning, clarifying that he will file a lawsuit if Pacquiao's handlers will bypass the UFC to go directly to negotiate with McGregor. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum also denied of any conversation happening and does not expect McGregor to fight anytime soon.
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"It's total nonsense," said Arum as quoted by BoxingScene.com. "If there is such a fight, Pacquiao or any other boxer would give McGregor a beating. But there are no negotiations right now. McGregor is still spending the money that he earned from the fight with Mayweather." The mixed martial artist reportedly earned around $100 million from the bout with Mayweather.
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Vasyl Lomachenko was quoted saying that he wouldn?t have quit the fight if he was the one who suffered a hand injury during his fight with Guillermo Rigondeaux. He questioned Rigondeaux?s decision to stop boxing after the sixth round of their WBO super featherweight championship in The Theater at Madison Square Garden last Saturday. Lomachenko cited his personal experience in continuing a fight with an injury.
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The Ukrainian southpaw recalled how he suffered a similar injury to his left hand in the middle of the bout three years ago in Macau, China. Lomachenko said he fought with pain due to his hand injury and still defeated Thailand?s Suriya Tatakhum by unanimous decision in their 12-round fight at Cotai Arena on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Chris Algieri encounter.
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?You know, I fought with one hand in Macau,? Lomachenko said. ?So it depends on you. If you wanna win, if you wanna fight, you?re willing to die in the ring.? A post-fight X-ray showed Lomachenko?s left hand wasn?t really broken, but the two-time Olympic gold medalist endured considerable pain to win every round of his fight against Tatakhum. Rigondeaux on his part wasn?t sure after the fight if he actually suffered a broken bone in his left hand when he hurt it in the second round.
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Lomachenko (10-1, 8 KOs) wanted to hear from Rigondeaux (17-1, 11 KOs, 1 NC) why he decided not to continue fighting Saturday night, especially after promising to knock out the Ukrainian champion, boasting with a lot of pre-fight trash talk. But Rigondeaux did not attend the post-fight press conference so Lomachenko was not able to hear the Cuban's pronouncement. ?Where is Rigo?,? Lomachenko asked. ?We need to ask him now about his posts on social media.?
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Bob Arum questioned the truthfulness of Rigondeaux?s hand injury. Arum is of the opinion that Rigondeaux?s will was broken, and not his hand. Lomachenko was way ahead on all three judges' scorecards when Rigondeaux informed referee Steve Willis he couldn?t continue. Willis deducted a point from Rigondeaux for repeated holding of his foe in the sixth round and had warned him a number of times for fouls before deducting the point.
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CompuBox scored Rigondeaux with 15 punches landed which is much lesser compared to Lomachenko?s 55. Two judges had it 59-54, while the third one had it 60-53 all in Lomachenko?s favor. This is the fourth time that a Lomachenko opponent has been stopped in the corner. In the post-fight interview, Lomachenko joked that he should change his named to ?Nomaschenko.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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