When Manny Pacquiao gets to fight again in 2020, there is little chance it will be another dream bout - a blockbuster Las Vegas showdown that he will co-headline with Floyd Mayweather. That one will have to wait as reports emerged the next in line to be pitted against the Filipino boxing legend is a Mexican-American fighter that goes by the name Mikey Garcia.
The 31-year-old Garcia is a four-time world champion and boasts of 40 professional fights with only a single defeat. His record should be impressive enough for Team Pacquiao to pick him over other rumored candidates, namely Shawn Porter, Errol Spence, Jr., and Terence Crawford.
All shortlisted are welterweights while Garcia was described in media reports as the "smaller type" and someone that could be perfect for Pacquiao.
According to the South China Morning Post, Garcia's camp is up to the challenge but would like to get a concrete proposal from Team Pacquiao. That means there is no real offer yet that Garcia can think about. His team is waiting for that call from Pacquiao.
"It's been, not an actual offer presented but they brought it up again, it's always been in the talks, a possibility ... I said yeah we would definitely love to look at that more. But it hasn't come [to fruition yet]," the Hong Kong publication reported Garcia as saying.
In the event Mikey is passed over, there's another Garcia in serious consideration. That would be Danny Garcia of Puerto Rico, who could prove as the better option for Team Pacquiao on the account of his colorful fight history, the Philippine Star reported.
The newspaper said Danny Garcia had shared the boxing ring with big names such as Brandon Rios, Lucas Matthysse and Erik Morales and all went home defeated. Interestingly, all three have brawled with Pacquiao and lost. So Team Pacquiao might want to face the same man who conquered the boxing icons.
The two Garcias are established as knockout artists, having 51 knockdowns between them, so Pacquiao can look forward to a fight that could equal the intensity of his last conquest. Earlier in the year, the Pacman won against Keith Thurman, and it marked the first time that the American tasted the agony of defeat.
Meanwhile, it seemed more likely that the much-awaited Pacquiao-Mayweather rematch is not happening anytime soon, at least not this year and not in 2020.
According to Filipino boxing analyst Joaquin Henson, Pacquiao is all set to duke it out with Mayweather if the latter should give the green light. The Money Man, however, has other things lined up until next year and among them is an exhibition fight that is scheduled next year in China.
For now, it will be a long wait for those who dream of another face-off involving the Filipino legislator and the American, whose record remains unblemished by defeat.
