FORMER four-division world champion Mikey Garcia of the United States is angling for a fight against reigning World Boxing Association welterweight kingpin Manny Pacquiao, according to a post on the boxingscene.com website yesterday.
“I would love it and it would be an honor to go up in the ring with Manny Pacquiao. He is a legend,” wrote boxingscene.com’s Miguel Rivera, quoting Garcia’s interview with ESPN Deportes, the Spanish website of American sports network ESPN.
“It would be something great and it is the fight that interests me the most,” added the boxer, although he bared that his handlers have not gotten in touch with the fighting lawmaker’s camp, especially MP Promotions chief Sean Gibbons, who is based in Las Vegas.
With a record of 40 wins, 30 of them by knockout, against one loss, Garcia, 32, is nine years younger than Pacquiao. He once held world championships in the junior lightweight, lightweight and light welterweight divisions.
Both boxers are about the same height at 5-foot-6.
Garcia currently holds the World Boxing Council diamond welterweight title after beating Jessie Vargas, a former Pacquiao foe, by unanimous decision at the Ford Center at the Star in San Francisco last Feb. 29.
The “diamond” title is an honorary belt awarded by the WBC to an epic fight that the Mexico-based world boxing body is not directly involved in or sanctioned, similar to the one it gave to the match between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. five years ago.
Pacquaio has not fought since unifying the WBA crown in subduing erstwhile unbeaten American Keith Thurman by a split decision on July 20 (July 21 in Manila), 2019 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.
With a record of 62 wins, spiked by 39 knockouts, against seven losses and two losses, Pacquiao, 41, is reportedly involved in negotiations of having an exhibition match in the nearby country of Macau before the end of the year.
