CONOR MCGREGOR has announced he is coming out of retirement for a one-off boxing match with Manny Pacquaio.
It marks yet another sensational U-turn for the former two-wight UFC champion, who announced his retirement from fighting back in June – his third retirement in the space of just four years.
Now the 32-year-old looks set to face-off against the Filipino boxing great in a money-spinning bout set to be held in the Middle East.
The Irishman confirmed the news on social media.
"It will be a true honour to have faced two of the greatest boxers of the modern era," the Irishman tweeted.
Anyway all water under the bridge who gives a fook.
I’m boxing Manny Pacquiao next in the Middle East.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) September 25, 2020
McGregor also posted a video on Instagram of himself shadow boxing in a ring.
The bout will be McGregor’s first boxing match since making his professional bow in a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr, held back in 2017.
It was a fight that generated a massive £450m payday for those involved, with more than 4.3m pay-per-view buys recorded in the US alone.
Organisers will be hoping for a similar turnout for this bout with Pacquaio currently holding the record for the greatest number of pay-per-view buys for a single fight.
It will be a true honour to have faced two of the greatest boxers of the modern era, afraid of a fight.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) September 25, 2020
That record was set back in 2015 when he fought Mayweather.
McGregor’s return to boxing is a surprising one.
He last took to the ring back in January, recording a resounding comebck triumph over Donald Cerrone at UFC 246.
McGregor had been hoping for a quick return to the octagon, but the Covid-19 pandemic coupled with his retirement, put paid to those plans – for now.
