Manny Pacquiao vs. Mikey Garcia Unlikely To Happen, Conor McGregor More Viable

The anticipated Manny Pacaquiao vs. Mikey Garcia fight in July at Saudi Arabia is reportedly unlikely to happen and UFC’s Conor McGregor is a more viable opponent for the Filipino legend, according to recent reports.

Following a decisive 12-round victory over Jessie Vargas, Garcia is now viewed as the next best possible opponent for Pacquiao. Some in boxing already envision the blockbuster bout to happen in July at Saudi Arabia but there are reportedly several factors to consider before calling Pacquiao vs. Garcia done deal.

According to Mike Coppinger, boxing insider for The Athletic, Matchroom Boxing and promoter Eddie Hearn are now attempting to put together a certain Garcia fight with future Hall-of-Famer Pacquiao. Garcia is poised to fight Pacquiao in a welterweight title tilt that could possibly land on July 11 in Saudi Arabia under DAZN. However, there are underlying obstacles that have to be addressed first.

Based on a report from Big Fight Weekend, the truth about Pacquiao’s relationship with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) to promote his next fight on Pay-Per-View is one factor already.

Hearn proclaimed earlier in the week in Texas that according to Pacquiao’s manager/spokesman, Audie Attar, they are free to negotiate with him about the possible fight with Garcia. The proposed deal states that it would air on DAZN Streaming in the U.S. and on Sky Sports in the U.K. As easy as it sounds, the said deal wouldn’t be finalized ASAP as Pacquiao, who fought his last two fights with Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman last year under the PBC promotional umbrella and through their pay-per-view, is still reportedly in-contract with PBC, a lucrative part of Al Haymon’s boxing promotion.

Pacquiao’s adviser Sean Gibbons told Dan Rafael of ESPN when the Pacquiao-Paradigm deal was announced that they were “ 1000% with PBC” and “Pacquiao still has existing fights left with PBC.”

On top of that, DAZN is not a pay per view arm like what PBC has with Fox and/or Showtime in the U.S. And, PPV with eight division world champ Pacquiao represents 10’s of millions of dollars more than a fight on a network or a streaming service.

Pacquiao’s partnership with Paradigm Sports Management, a promotion who also handles McGregor, quickly fueled speculation that the Filipino champ will end up fighting fellow Paradigm client and UFC star in a boxing match later this summer. In simpler terms, Pacquiao vs. McGregor could be more viable than the proposed Garcia fight.

Meanwhile, Garcia is still positive that he could finally share the ring with Pacquiao and even vowed that he could “take him out.”

“It’s not very often that we get to possibly get an opportunity to fight an all-time great. I think I can definitely show everybody that even though he looked great, I can take him out,” Garcia said of fighting Pacquiao.