By: Hans Themistode
Mikey Garcia figured it would make more sense if he just kept his mouth shut.
For years the former four-division world champion would openly express his desire to face Manny Pacquiao and claimed that their showdown was just about ready to get over the finish line.
Time and time again however, Garcia was made to look like a fool as Pacquiao continually went in another direction. Now though, after staying mum on the subject, Garcia revealed that both his team and team Pacquiao, have been behind the scenes hammering out a deal. So far, everything has moved along smoothly.
Although Pacquiao hasn’t announced anything just yet, Garcia, unlike in years past, feels so confident then their contest will happen, that he has decided to let the cat out of the bag a bit early.
“It’s been in the works for a few years,” said Garcia during a recent self-recorded video. “In the last few weeks, we’ve been getting very close to finalizing this. I’m pretty excited. Hopefully, we can get the exact date within the next few days. Were trying to get everything done for May. So far, it seems like all the parties are on board so I’m excited.”
Pacquiao, 42, hasn’t been seen in the ring for almost two years. When he did make an appearance though, he was showing the younger fighters of the welterweight division a thing or two as he dropped and outboxed former unified champion, Keith Thurman.
Unlike most fighters who have made their peace with fighting inside of an empty arena amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) appeared uninterested and instead, opted to stay on the sidelines.
But just because there were no fights on his schedule, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t firmly in the mix. Top names at 147 pounds such as WBO titlist Terence Crawford, unified champion Errol Spence Jr., and most recently, 135-pound contender Ryan Garcia, have all claimed that a showdown with Pacquiao was on their radar.
None of those aforementioned names however, could say with any confidence that they were on the brink of facing the long-time legend. That is, until now.
For Garcia (40-1, 30 KOs), he’s done all that he can to put distance between himself and the worst performance of his career. In March of 2019, Garcia moved up two weight divisions to challenge Spence Jr. in what many believed was career suicide.
Despite the warnings, Garcia claimed that he “saw something,” in Spence Jr. that would allow him to pick up the win. His assumptions, of course, were proven to be wrong as Spence Jr. dominated every single round against him.
Roughly one year later, Garcia returned to the ring against former two-division champion Jessie Vargas, dropping and mostly dominating him. He hasn’t boxed since then as he elected to sit out due to COVID-19.
Now, after kicking up his feet to watch the landscape, Garcia has stated on numerous occasions that he’s ready to drop the extra pounds he picked up during the pandemic and get back into fighting shape to return to the ring.
If anyone has been given the pleasure of looking around the household of Garcia, they’ll notice several world titles spanning across numerous weight classes.
Still, regardless of his high placement in the boxing world, Garcia knows that his career would go to a whole other level if he were able to officially stand across the ring from Pacquiao.
“Just to share the ring with a living legend like Manny does amazing things for my career. It’s a great fight, great for my career and for the fans. It’s very exciting for boxing in general to get this kind of fight.”
