MANILA: Manny Pacquiao threw down the gauntlet to Conor McGregor — and took a dig at Floyd Mayweather — as he promised to give the mixed martial arts star a “real boxing match.”
McGregor lost a megabucks fight in August against the unbeaten Mayweather, who defeated Pacquiao in their disappointing ‘Fight of the Century’ in 2015.
“Happy Thanksgiving! Stay fit my friend. #realboxingmatch #2018 @thenotoriousmma,” Pacquiao posted on Twitter and Instagram, using McGregor’s social media handle.
There was no immediate reaction from McGregor on social media, and Pacquiao’s media team said Friday that there were “no negotiations yet” about a McGregor match.
Pacquiao, who turns 39 in three weeks, lost his World Boxing Organization welterweight title to Australian former teacher Jeff Horn in July, having come out of retirement in 2016 to take the belt from American Jessie Vargas.
McGregor has not fought in mixed martial arts or boxing since losing to Mayweather by 10th-round technical knockout in their much-hyped bout in Las Vegas in August.
Pacquiao’s “#realboxingmatch” reference appears to be a swipe at Mayweather, who beat the Filipino by unanimous decision in 2015 in the richest fight in boxing history.
Pacquiao, who fought with a shoulder injury that later required surgery, has insisted he beat Mayweather, saying he “didn’t do nothing. He was always moving outside.”
Mayweather retired with a record of 50-0 after the McGregor bout.
Real boxing match: Pacquiao calls out MMA star McGregor
Real boxing match: Pacquiao calls out MMA star McGregor
Supersub strikes again as Sesko gives Man United win at Everton
- The defeat was a blow to Everton’s hopes of a place in next year’s European competitions and left it languishing in ninth, behind Brentford and Bournemouth
LIVERPOOL, England: Manchester United supersub Benjamin Sesko scored 13 minutes after entering the field to give his side a 1-0 win over Everton in the Premier League on Monday.
It was the third time in four games that Sesko has scored after coming off the bench and secured points for United.
“I believe in me and so do the other players as well,” Sesko told Sky Sports. “They know what they are going to get when I arrive in the game. It’s up to me to deliver of course.”
His goal with 19 minutes remaining finished off the slickest move of an otherwise stodgy game.
Bryan Mbeumo controlled Matheus Cunha’s superb long ball and played a perfectly weighted pass to the feet of Sesko, who steered the ball past Jordan Pickford with aplomb.
“It was a great finish,” United interim coach Michael Carrick said. “It was a ruthless finish. I liked the way he put it away with real confidence. It was great play from Cunha and Mbeumo to set it up and we are dangerous on the break.”
Until then defenses had been on top and the lack of attacking fluency was not helped by a heavy pitch that appeared to slow down both teams.
The result took fourth-placed United three points clear of Chelsea and Liverpool. United was three behind Aston Villa.
It also extended Carrick’s unbeaten run to six games since he replaced Ruben Amorim on Jan. 13.
The defeat was a blow to Everton’s hopes of a place in next year’s European competitions and left it languishing in ninth, behind Brentford and Bournemouth and eight points adrift of Chelsea and Liverpool.
David Moyes’ men have gone seven games without a win at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium.
“Generally we did very well in lots of bits,” Moyes said. “We got done on the counterattack and they ran away and got the goal that was there. We put in a great effort to get the goal but lacked the quality to make it count.”
