Ryan Garcia evidently believes he’s going to fight Manny Pacquiao.
The lightweight contender, a rising star, seems to say on Instagram that a deal to face the 42-year-old Filipino icon is in place. However, no official word – from Pacquiao or anyone else – has emerged.
The Athletic has reported that representatives of Garcia and Pacquiao are in “preliminary discussions.”
Garcia wrote on IG: “A dream turned reality. It’s an honor to share the Ring with @mannypacquiao I will always respect what you did in and out the ring. Here’s to the Best Man Winning.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CKckF3JhFPY/?utm_source=ig_embed
The concept of a Pacquiao-Garcia fight is a bit of a head-scratcher because they fight in different weight classes.
Garcia competes at 135 pounds. Pacquiao has fought at 147 for more than a decade, although he’s a small welterweight. They could agree to a catchweight.
The fight makes sense from a business standpoint. Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) has a massive social media following, which means he could probably generate a lot of pay-per-view buys. And he’s coming off his biggest victory, a seventh-round knockout of former Olympic champion Luke Campbell on Jan. 2.
Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) last fought in July 2019, when he upset Keith Thurman by decision to win a major welterweight title. Since then, he has been focused on his work as a senator in the Philippines.
The eight-division titleholder has teased a possible fight with MMA star Conor McGregor, who was stopped by Dustin Poirier in UFC 257 on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Garcia has been pushing for a fight with Gervonta Davis. He presumably would set that matchup aside for a crack at Pacquiao because of the money at stake.
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