McGregor 'serious' about returning to boxing, manager says
It wasn't just talk when Conor McGregor recently expressed interest in boxing again, according to his manager.
"He’s serious about boxing," Audie Attar told MMA Fighting's Damon Martin. "He said it. That’s something that I can tell you. If he says something he has interest in, it’s likely going to happen."
McGregor, a former UFC two-division champion, returned to the Octagon for the first time in more than a year on Jan. 18, finishing Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds in the UFC 246 main event.
The Irishman said before the fight that he wants a rematch with Floyd Mayweather, whom McGregor lost to by 10th-round TKO in a 2017 match. McGregor said after beating "Cowboy" that he'd also like to face off with Manny Pacquiao.
Additionally, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said last week that he wants WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford to fight McGregor in a two-bout series - first in MMA, then in boxing.
"We definitely monitor everything," Attar said. "We monitor not only fan engagement and interest from the public, but then you look at who’s out there talking what. Because it could be where we have a few different options to weigh and decide on."
McGregor wants to fight at least twice more in 2020. He's targeting bouts against welterweight titleholder Kamaru Usman, BMF champ Jorge Masvidal, and the winner of the UFC lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson.