{"id":239445,"date":"2017-05-29T07:42:09","date_gmt":"2017-05-29T14:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=239445"},"modified":"2017-05-29T07:51:47","modified_gmt":"2017-05-29T14:51:47","slug":"bob-arum-manny-pacquiao-fight-mcgregor-mayweather-isnt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/conor-mcgregor\/bob-arum-manny-pacquiao-fight-mcgregor-mayweather-isnt\/","title":{"rendered":"Bob Arum: Manny Pacquiao “is there” to fight McGregor if Mayweather isn’t"},"content":{"rendered":"

The biggest ongoing story in combat sports today surrounds a possible boxing mega fight <\/a>between undefeated great Floyd Mayweather and UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At first, of course, this fight looked like a near impossibility. As the months have passed, however, red tape has been bushwhacked and roadblocks have been cleared, and the fight looks more and more like one that will actually happen.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the biggest development in this story thus far occurred earlier this month, when McGregor announced that he’d agreed to his end of the deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an honour to sign this record breaking deal alongside my partners Zuffa LLC, The Ultimate Fighting Championship and Paradigm Sports Management,\u201d McGregor said in a statement to TheMacLife.com.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This of course, leaves the ball in Mayweather’s court. UFC President Dana White is apparently now working diligently to reach an agreement with the boxer and his team.<\/p>\n

If Mayweather isn’t able to come to an agreement with White and the UFC, however, there seems to be a pretty solid backup plan in the pipe: a boxing match between McGregor and another great of the boxing world, Manny Pacquiao.<\/p>\n

Pacquiao has expressed interest in this fight previously, and more recently, his promoter Bob Arum has reiterated his interest in being Mayweather’s understudy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf McGregor is still looking for an opponent, Manny Pacquiao is there,\u201d Arum said in a recent interview\u00a0TMZ.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

During his interview with TMZ, Arum also touched on the turbulent Mayweather-McGregor negotiations, and suggested the fight could well happen if the parties involved are patient and persistent.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe patient, don\u2019t give in,\u201d He said. \u201cDana\u2019s a good negotiator, and he\u2019ll get the thing done. But he can\u2019t be pushed around by Mayweather and his people.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n