MIKEY GARCIA WANTS SPENCE MORE THAN PACQUIAO
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 19 Aug 2018
WBC and IBF lightweight champion Mikey Garcia has been planning to face IBF welterweight champ Errol Spence, Jr. even before he fought Robert Easter, Jr., if he could be successful in beating the then IBF lightweight titlist.
Garcia immediately targeted Spence after the convincing win against Easter to annex the IBF belt. The Spence camp is also interested in the fight which is tentatively set before the end of this year.
Several boxing experts wants Garcia to consider another opponent since he would be moving up two weight divisions and it would be dangerous to face one of the deadliest boxing stars, a top ten pound for pound fighter in Spence.
The fighter whose name has cropped up several times to face the four-division world titlist is eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, who is more popular than Spence.
The Pacquiao-Garcia clash has been a subject of discussions in the boxing media and got a big boost when Pacquiao former arch rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. said he was going call the Filipino senator and try to convince him to sign a deal that would make Garcia and Pacquiao engage atop the ring before the end of the year.
"Actually, I'ma get on the phone with Pacquiao after this call see if we can put him in position. There's a lot of good competition out there that he could fight. I wouldn't mind making Pacquiao vs. Mikey Garcia," Mayweather said in FightHype.com.
The only person who is less interested to the idea of a Garcia vs. Pacquiao clash is Garcia himself.
"My dad actually likes that idea better," Garcia told FightHype.com. "My dad likes that idea and that would probably be better as far as the business goes, but that doesn't do it for me right now."
Pacquiao is fresh from a seventh-round knockout win of Lucas Matthysse last July. His marketability soared with an eleventh major world title and a stoppage win after nine years.
Both Pacquiao and Matthysse are past their prime. But the fighting senator shows he has a lot of power left in his arsenal. Pacquiao will provide Garcia the blockbuster match he wants in moving up from lightweight to welterweight.
Turning 40 this December, Pacquiao is said to have three remaining fights in his career, one at the end of this year and two bouts next year. ?That?s the thing, if I don?t take it right now, I miss out on the opportunity," Garcia said.
Garcia must take the chance to fight a boxing legend in Pacquiao, possibly with the help of another legend the undefeated former pound-for-pound king now promoter Mayweather.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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