Former four-division world titleholder Mikey Garcia 40-1 (30) is prepared to move on from a proposed bout with Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao 62-7-2 (39) if an agreement cannot be made in the immediate future.
“We’ve always been interested in a fight with Manny Pacquiao. Last few months, the conversations came up many, many times,” Garcia told World Boxing News.
“We started developing a good idea, a plan, a proposal, but it hasn’t really happened. Nothing solid. So, if that’s the case, I’m ready to move on and search for another fight, possibly to get a fight in July, August and maybe that could set me up for something bigger before the end of the year.”
The 33-year-old Californian has not fought since outpointing Jessie Vargas over 12 rounds in Frisco, Texas in February last year.
“I’m ready to get back in the ring. That’s what I want to do. I want to get back in the ring, show my fans and everybody that I’m here, that I haven’t left,” he said.
“We’ve been absent for over a year now after the fight with (Jessie) Vargas, but many fighters have had absences due to the pandemic. We want to get back. We’re ready.”
Garcia has been chasing a shot at Pacquiao ever since the victory over Vargas but the global coronavirus pandemic and Pacquiao’s responsibilities as a senator in his native Philippines have put the fight on the backburner.
Pacquiao works with a large team and Garcia says he has been getting mixed messages about the fight.
“But there’s a lot of people regarding Manny Pacquiao. Everybody around him is a manager. Everybody around him is the one adviser you gotta talk to,” Garcia said.
“And so sometimes I get one guy telling me this is a done deal, we’re ready to go. And then someone else says, ‘no, no, no, we need something else.’ “It’s always, ‘Manny loves the fight with you, it’ll be a 12-round fight; obviously, it will be a big event. He loves the idea of fighting you.’
“They’ve mentioned (fighting) in Saudi Arabia. They mention Los Angeles. They mention possibly here in Texas. So, we’ve had conversations, but it has never really solidified.
“There’s always something missing or something keeps it from happening. We’ve been close to getting something, but we just haven’t been able to lock it in. We feel we’re almost there and then it just doesn’t quite get there.
“The pandemic has been part of it. Initially, we thought it would be sometime in May. This was a few months back, like January, February. Now May is out, June is out because we’re not there yet.
“We need time to promote and to work and train. We’ve had all these ideas and conversations and just haven’t been able to lock it in.”
Southpaw Pacquiao, 42, has not fought since delivering Keith Thurman 29-1 (22) his first loss by split decision in Las Vegas in July 2019.
Garcia remains hopeful the fight can still get made.
“We’ve had all these conversations,” he said. “I do want to fight. Everybody tells me Manny likes the fight with me and he’s onboard. But he also wants to get taken care of financially.
“It’s a lot of money he’s asking for as a guarantee. It’s a lot of money and rightfully earned. He’s Manny Pacquiao. He’s a legend.”
