Manny Pacquiao evidently considers Errol Spence Jr. or Mikey Garcia his mostly likely opponent for a planned title defense in July.
Pacquiao said in a television interview in the Philippines that he would fight either Garcia, Spence or Terence Crawford, according to a report on RingTV.com. He later whittled that list down to Spence and Garcia.
The welterweight titleholder added that “there are boxers from Canada and Mexico that want to fight me” but didn’t name names.
A fight with Spence, which would unify three of the four major titles, would be a bigger fight than one with Garcia but presumably also would be a stiffer challenge for the 41-year-old Pacquiao.
Spence is coming off an exciting split-decision victory over Shawn Porter that most observers feel he won clearly in September but was injured in a horrific single-car accident in October. He has recovered and reportedly has been cleared to resume training.
Garcia, like Pacquiao a small welterweight, defeated Jessie Vargas by a unanimous decision on Saturday. He was shut out by Spence in his previous fight, which raised questions about whether he could compete against an elite opponent at 147 pounds.
Pacquiao won a welterweight title by outpointing Keith Thurman last July.