Manny Pacquiao thinks he has found the ultimate street fighting team and no-one is going to argue with him. The boxing legend shared a photo of himself posing with Conor McGregor and Mike Tyson in Saudi Arabia.
Pacquiao wanted to fight McGregor. He even signed with Paradigm, who manage the Irishman, in the belief that the sports agency would be able to make the fight happen.
It never materialized and Pacquiao and Paradigm ended up in a court battle which the Filipino lost. Him and McGregor were both invited to attend the recent heavyweight boxing match between Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury.
While there they posed for a photo with another heavyweight boxer, Mike Tyson. Pacquiao shared the photo on Instagram just now along with a caption that reads,
“Tag team in a street fight anyone? I got my team.”
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Lucrative offers
It doesn’t seem like there is any animosity between Pacquiao and McGregor despite the failed fight negotiations and subsequent court case. The UFC star looks set to return to MMA action in 2024 and doesn’t seem to have any boxing bouts lined up.
Pacquiao clearly wants to compete and was in talks about a fight with former training partner Amir Khan. He has fewer political commitments these days and looked sharp during an exhibition bout with DK Yoo last year.
Tyson got into the exhibition boxing business in 2020 when he faced Roy Jones Jnr. It isn’t clear whether the 57 year old plans to compete again but a lot of fighters, past and present, are rubbing their hands at the prospect of receiving a lucrative offer to fight in Saudi Arabia.
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Box office flop
The fight between Ngannou and Fury was far closer than anticipated. The former UFC heavyweight champion knocked the boxer down and was unfortunate to lose by split decision.
It reportedly flopped at the box office but with a seemingly limitless budget that probably won’t deter the Saudi Arabian backers from booking more big money fights. Quinton Jackson has made it clear he wants to box there and the former UFC middleweight champion is lining up Shannon Briggs as an opponent.
It isn’t clear whether the two men have a promoter on board but they seem to be co-operating closely in order to try and get the fight booked. Pacquiao has already seen one fight in Saudi Arabia fall through but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the boxer turned politician finally get to fight there in 2024.
