MIKEY GARCIA IS POSSIBLE NEXT PACQUIAO OPPONENT AFTER BRONER
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 07 Jan 2019
WBA welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao is aiming at fighting quality opponents for the remaining active years of his boxing career. Premier Boxing Champions, on which Pacquiao is now a part of, has a list of big names under its tutelage like Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Errol Spence, Shawn Porter, Adrien Broner, among others.
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Another probable next opponent is Mikey Garcia who works with Al Haymon. Garcia has held world championships in four weight classes, including currently the WBC lightweight title and lineal light welterweight title. Previously he was the WBO and The Ring magazine featherweight champion, the WBO junior lightweight titlist, the IBF junior welterweight title holder, and the IBF lightweight king.
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Garcia moves up to the welterweight division to challenge Spence for the IBF 147-lb. title in March. Being an underdog in the fight, Garcia is still a lucrative foe for Pacquiao even if he loses the IBF world title fight. Both boxers are fighting under the PBC promotions so Pacquiao believes the contest can be possible.
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"We have many strong opponents for the future, including Mikey Garcia, now that we are under the same promoter. I think it would be more feasible to make now and he would bring a good fight," Pacquiao said to Bein Sports.
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According to Mike Smith of Boxing News 24: "There are fighters in their early 20s at welterweight that don?t possess Pacquiao?s hand speed. Pacquiao is still one of the fastest fighters in the 147 pound division."
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Showtime veteran broadcaster Al Bernstein was overwhelmed with Tyson Fury's performance in last month's world title fight with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. The fight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, ended in a controversial twelve round split draw. The scorecards were 115?111 for Wilder, 114?112 for Fury (which was incorrectly announced as 114?110), and 113?113.
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Fury survived two brutal knockdowns and displayed one of his most exceptional career fights. Majority of the analysts believed that Fury had defeated Wilder. But the two knockdowns could have tilted the judges'decisions.
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Fury was able to recover in time for only in his third fight since June 2018, when he reactivated himself after his semi-retirement since November 2015. He then was overweight to nearly 400-pounds during the long hiatus.
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Bernstein told On The Ropes Boxing Radio: "I mentioned during the fight that I?ve only seen two fighters who were off for that kind of layoff in which they suffered personal decline, one was Johnny Tapia who was out of the ring for several years with terrible drug abuse problems and he came back and he was better than he was before he left. I can say the same thing for Tyson Fury, who of course suffered drug addiction issues, mental health problems, and he came back and honestly he looked better than he did before."
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"Deontay Wilder hung in there and registered those two knockdowns, the second of which looked for all the world like it was going to end the fight. It was an extraordinary night, and obviously there was much debate over the draw," he added.
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Wilder could be the huge favorite to win a second match because of his two impressive knockdowns scored on Fury in the first fight. But Bernstein believes the rematch can be considered as a 50-50 bout.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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