Manny Pacquiao in talks to face Ryan Garcia?!
In a bit of a head scratcher, news is circulating that WBA welterweight champion Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39KOs) is currently engaged in preliminary talks to face unbeaten lightweight contender Ryan “KingRy” Garcia (21-0, 18KOs). Pacquiao, who hasn’t fought since July of 2019 where he defeated Keith Thurman to become the WBA champion, has entertained a plethora of options since then. Those include possible fights with unified welterweight champion Errol Spence, WBO champion Terence Crawford, a rematch with Keith Thurman and, MMA superstar Connor McGregor.
On the other hand, Garcia was served the task of beating longtime lightweight contender and two-time WBC title challenger Luke “Coolhands” Campbell. He picked up the WBC interim title on the night of January 2 by seventh round knockout. In the aftermath, Garcia would immediately call out WBA regular lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis (24-0, 23KOs), which he’s been doing for years now.
However, all the talk of a potential showdown with Davis suddenly fell by the wayside. Is a potential fight with Pacquiao the reason why?! He mentioned on social media recently that an announcement is coming soon and we wouldn’t believe him if he told us!
WHAT TO MAKE OF THIS
This fight makes no sense for Pacquiao when he has two possible bigger money fights and a chance to become an undisputed champion at welterweight. For Garcia, it makes sense in that a win over Pacquiao would significantly enhance his resume and his rising star power in the sport. While this comes a surprise due to the fact that Garcia is still unproven against elite competition, the money he’ll make from this fight makes this news not so shocking. Could this be a passing of the torch fight? Similar to Pacquiao vs De La Hoya in 2008? It’s certainly possible.
Regardless of the reasoning for this fight, it’s disappointing on all fronts. Garcia has plenty of big fights in his division, as does Pacquiao. But again these are just preliminary discussions with nothing official.
3kingsboxing.com will continue to monitor this story and provide updates as they become available.
By: Jerrell Fletcher
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