Freddie Roach Says Manny Pacquiao vs. Conor McGregor Not Being Discussed

Manny Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach shot down any rumors of his fighter facing MMA superstar Conor McGregor in a boxing match. 

"I talked to [Bob] Arum and Arum says it's not true," Roach told TMZ Sports.

Arum is the founder and CEO of Top Rank and Pacquiao's promoter.

Pacquiao began the speculation himself, however, with an interesting tweet in late November: 

And in December, he kept alive the possibility the two men could meet in the ring.

"If we can negotiate it, I have no problem. It is OK with both of us," Pacquiao said, per Brian Campbell of CBS Sports.

He added that his team "have not yet had any follow-up conversations" with McGregor's representatives after an initial approach had been made by the Filipino's team.

Arum, on the other hand, has seemed disinterested in a Pacquiao-McGregor fight.

"If we equate boxing with fighting—because I'm not talking about his ability as an MMA participant because he has been very good with that—McGregor can't spell fight," Arum noted in December while on the In This Corner podcast, per Campbell. "Mayweather carried him before he took him out. With Manny, it wouldn't be a contest, it would be a money grab.

"[McGregor's] a great, great MMA artist," Arum added. "This is no knock on him. He's a great attraction. He cannot spell fight. The answer is no, I wouldn't particularly look forward to doing a fight featuring McGregor and Pacquiao. If Manny asked me to, I would."

Dana White also shot down the rumors earlier in December.

"That would be weird because he's under contract with us," White said of the possibility of McGregor facing Pacquiao, per Andreas Hale of Yahoo Sports. "If that's true, I will be suing Pacquiao and whoever's representing him, so I'm assuming that's not true. Yes, [McGregor's next fight will be in the UFC]."

As for Pacquiao's next fight, Roach told TMZ he would like to see a rematch with Jeff Horn, who scored a controversial decision win over the 39-year-old in July. The two were scheduled to fight in November before Pacquiao withdrew due to government commitments in the Philippines, where he is a senator. 

Arum told the Manila Bulletin he is trying to find Pac-Man a fight for April (h/t BoxingScene.com), though who he could potentially face remains unknown.