Arum: Manny Pacquiao will fight Conor McGregor if Floyd Mayweather deal goes sour

Bob Arum has thrown Manny Pacquiao’s name in the hat to take on the UFC’s Conor McGregor if he can’t come to terms with Floyd Mayweather.

The long trek to a boxing match between UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and legend Floyd Mayweather appears to be inching closer to reality. UFC president Dana White says he’s come to an agreement with McGregor to allow him to participate, and the next step is to come to terms with Mayweather. That part of things could be complicated, since Mayweather holds a lot of cards there.

One person that understands negotiating with Floyd is Bob Arum. The Top Rank CEO promoted him until 2006 when Mayweather decided to go off on his own. And Arum had to negotiate with him to finally put together a bout between Floyd and Top Rank-promoted Manny Pacquiao in 2015. Arum spoke to TMZ Sports about the situation and offered Dana White some negotiating advice:

“Be patient, don’t give in. Dana’s a good negotiator, and he’ll get the thing done. But he can’t be pushed around by Mayweather and his people.”

He’s still a promoter at heart though, so like a good promoter does, Arum said that Pacquiao will take the fight with McGregor if Dana White and the UFC can’t come to a deal with Mayweather:

“If McGregor is still looking for an opponent, Manny Pacquiao is there.”

Pacquiao is scheduled to defend his WBO welterweight title when takes on Jeff Horn in Australia on July 2nd.