KEY POINTS

  • Mikey Garcia looks forward to facing Manny Pacquiao in his next fight
  • Garcia claims that talks for a potential fight with Pacquiao had already started even before the pandemic 
  • MP Promotions said Garcia is the frontrunner for Pacquiao's next bout

Former world champion Mikey Garcia is looking forward to facing boxing legend Manny Pacquiao in his next fight. The American fighter said a potential bout against the Filipino icon has always been a target of his as he claimed that the faceoff would surely be a treat for the fans of the sport.

Garcia revealed that pre-fight negotiations with Pacquiao had already commenced prior to his welterweight bout against Jessie Vargas, which took place before the Coronavirus pandemic forced a stoppage on boxing events.

“Leading up to the Vargas fight, we were already in conversation with Team Pacquiao, having a few discussions," Garcia told Chris Mannix, as published by Boxing Scene.

"It seemed like things were shaping up pretty well with Manny Pacquiao getting on board to maybe getting a fight with me. Things went south with the whole pandemic and everything had to wait."

The said talks were then indirectly confirmed by MP Promotions, through CEO Sean Gibbons, who said the 32-year-old is the frontrunner for the Pacman’s next fight.

Learning about Gibbons’ statement has put Garcia in high spirits. With his “dream” matchup now at his sight, the former four-division world champion could not wait to get back into the ring once again.

"Hearing his team, Sean Gibbons, say that that's a fight that they want, that they're excited to push forward on that, that's exciting," Garcia added. "That's a fight that I've always wanted – a fight that I think fans would love and appreciate.

"Once things get back on track, that's a fight that I'm going to go after. I think I would be ready to go into a big fight like a Manny Pacquiao fight right away. I don't feel like there's a need to have a tuneup fight at this point. As long as I get my 10 weeks of training that I require for my fight, I think I'll be good to go."

Garcia bagged a unanimous decision win over Vargas in Texas to notch his 40th professional victory that also served as a bounce-back statement after dropping his first career defeat at the hands of Errol Spence Jr. in March 2019.

Pacquiao, meanwhile, has been on a long layoff following his split decision win over Keith Thurman in July 2019. Besides Garcia, several fighters are also being linked to the Filipino’s comeback fight, namely Spence Jr., Terence Crawford, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia, and even Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao (C) celebrates after beating US boxer Keith Thurman in a WBA super world welterweight title fight in Las Vegas in July 2019
Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao (C) celebrates after beating US boxer Keith Thurman in a WBA super world welterweight title fight in Las Vegas in July 2019 AFP / John Gurzinski