CONOR McGREGOR needs to beat Dustin Poirier with a ‘boxing style KO’ to salvage any chances of fighting Manny Pacquiao.
That is according to former fighter turned-promoter Dmitry Salita, once a sparring partner of Floyd Mayweather’s.
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Salita admits demand and interest in McGregor boxing Pacquiao has been dealt a major blow after the Irishman was knocked out by Poirier.
And it leaves the UFC’s biggest ever star needing to avenge defeat in emphatic fashion if he has any hope of convincing fans to buy into his ring return.
Salita told SunSport: “I believe that there will be significantly less interest in his boxing return.
“The hook is that he is one of the best in the UFC but that is not the case anymore.
“He would have to come back in an exciting dominating fashion to get same level of interest in a boxing return
“He needs to win the rematch in a dominating way and it would be better if he did with a boxing style KO.
“The intrigue that would sell this particular fight is no longer there as he is not the best in the UFC.”
McGregor, 32, made around £100million for his 2017 boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather, 43, which he lost in ten rounds.
And before marking his UFC comeback against Poirier, 32, he revealed talks were intensifying between himself and Pacquiao, 42.
But after being KO’d for the first time in the UFC, the southpaw multimillionaire is left with questions over his fighting future.
He now faces a rebuilding job, with distractions from outside the UFC needing to be eliminated in order to build back his reputation.
Salita said: “Conor is a great self promoter.
“I believe that he was pushing for the Pacquiao fight and was hoping that his performance in the Poirer rematch would push the public’s interest.
“But the ring and now the octagon is the theater of the unexpected and as we see anything can happen.
“Such defeats are somewhat unexpected and can cause a dent in a career.
“However, we see that in the UFC culture losses are more tolerable and fighters do come back so lets see how the next stage of Conor’s career plays out.”
Mayweather was quick to bask in McGregor’s defeat and slammed any suggestion of a fight with Pacquiao, who the American beat in 2015.
The Notorious has also seen a mega-money rematch with bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, 32, seemingly go up in smoke too.
But, with a fighter as polarising and popular as McGregor, he is only a win away from bouncing back and climbing to the top again.
Then, talk of the biggest fights in both the boxing ring and UFC octagon can resume.
Salita explained: “I think Conor is a very good fighter and a great self promoter.
“Both are essential elements in making of a superstar. Conor was a superstar in the cage and perhaps he can get to that level again.
“He needs to go back to the drawing board and become elite as a fighter again.
“If he can do that then the mega fights be they hybrid with a boxing superstar or with fellow UFC fighters will happen.”
