By Aragon Garcia: Saudi representatives are interested in staging Manny Pacquiao vs. Mikey Garcia in their country in 2020, says Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn. The British promoter wants to stage 2 big events in Saudi Arabia on a grand scale next year, and he wants to lure Pacquiao for one of them against Mikey (39-1 30 KOs).
Mikey has to win his February 29 fight against Jessie Vargas (29-2-2, 11 KOs) on DAZN at The Ford Center at The Star, in Frisco, Texas. There’s going to be a lot riding on that fight for both fighters. This isn’t just former four division world champion Garcia that is looking to put himself in position for a big money fight.
Vargas, 30, needs a big victory over Garcia to ensure that his career stays alive, and he can continue to get interesting fights on DAZN. Unfortunately, Vargas has no chance of getting a fight against Pacquiao because he already lost to him by a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision in 2016. The fight was too one-sided for there to ever be a second one between them.
Saudis want Pacquiao vs. Garcia in 2020
“The Saudis are the ones that put the money up, and they’re the ones that put their trust in us,” said Hearn. “We’re looking to deliver 2 events in Saudi in 2020. They [Saudis] want that fight [Pacquiao vs. Mikey]. They want the biggest of the biggest, and if you can get it, they’ve got the money for it. That’s what’s exciting about Saudi. You know if I’m going to do 2 shows in Saudi, they’re going to be f— monsters,” said Hearn.
To get the 41-year-old Pacquiao to agree to fight Mikey, Hearn will need to make a huge offer to him, because he’s not going to agree to take that fight unless there’s big money.
Pacquiao has a lot of options for big money fights available to him with Premier Boxing Champions fighters. Danny Garcia in a great position to face Pacquiao next if he wins his January 25 fight against Ivan Redkhach,
Pacquiao fight is the one Mikey Garcia wants in 2020
“Yes, that does change my mind, and it does really excite me, and interests me a lot,” said Mikey to Fighthype about him now being interested in fighting Pacquiao after his win over Keith Thurman. “He really did turn the clock back 10+ years. He looked terrific against Keith. There has been some recent conversations for a fight between me and Manny. I would love to fight Manny. We’ll see. Maybe 2020 is the year that we’ll get in the ring together,” said Mikey.
This is the match that Mikey has been talking about for a long time now. Mikey would make huge money fighting Pacquiao, and if he beat it would be even better. Mikey didn’t look so great in his first fight at 147 last March in losing to IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. in Arlington, Texas. Garcia should have had a tune-up match against someone like Jessie Vargas before facing Spence, because it was too big of a jump up in weight.
Prograis fight interests Mikey
“I think a fight with Regis [Prograis] would be a great fight,” said Mikey when asked if he’d be interested in facing Prograis after his February 29 fight with Vargas. “I’m not looking at 135 at all right now. Maybe if I come down to 140 first, and I feel like I can come down to 135 possibly. But I’m not looking at 135. If it were at 140, and he was willing to come up, I would love a fight with him,” said Mikey about Lomachenko.
“I haven’t heard anything from him or his promoter reaching out to me for a fight like that. It doesn’t seem like Mikey Garcia fits his agenda. I’m looking at other names, and other opponents. If our paths happen to cross in the future, then that would be the fight,” said Mikey.
Former WBA light welterweight champion Regis Prograis would be more trouble than he’s worth for Mikey to fight him. He’s not a big star like Pacquiao, and he’s coming off of a loss to Josh Taylor. There’s not much Mikey would get out of a fight with Regis at this point. That could change in the future if Prograis is able to turn his career around, but right now, he’s not in the same league as Pacquiao.
Mikey interested in Lomachenko fight at 140
“No regrets. I failed to perform,” said Mikey to ESPN about his loss to Errol Spence “I felt slow, I felt sluggish, tired and weak…We chose Jessie as my next opponent to show the fans that I’m back. That loss only made me hungry and inspired me more. We are concentrating more on speed, because we’re fighting at welterweight.
“I have ruled out going back down [to 140], but for this it’ll be at welterweight. This fight will allow me to show that I am a true contender even at welterweight. I would love to fight Manny Pacquiao. Other than that, I might move back down to 140. Maybe Lomachenko if he decides to move up. If Loma is willing to move up a little bit, and I meet him at 140, I think that would be a terrific fight,” Mikey said about Lomachenko.
It’s not likely that Mikey and WBA/WBC [F]/WBO lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko will be fighting anytime soon, because the weight would be an issue. Lomachenko isn’t going to want to move up to 140, and there’s no way that Mikey will move back down to 135 to fight him.
Garcia confident Hearn can lure opponents to face him
“I believe this partnership with DAZN and Eddie will put me in position for future fights, whether I come back down to 140 to pursue big fights there or if I stay at 147,” said Mikey to Fino Boxing. “The money that he [Hearn] can offer opponents might be enough to get those fights. I know I’m getting big fights at 147. I DO want a title fight at 147, but I need to earn my shot again.
“So maybe a fight or two I can position myself for that shot,” said Mikey. “You can expect fireworks,” said Mikey about his February 29 fight against Jessie Vargas. “His only two losses were Manny Pacquiao, a living legend and Tim Bradley, a future Hall of Famer. That tells you, and that speaks a lot. That’s why I figure this is a great fight. I’m sure he wants to win over me, because that’ll put him in line for something huge,” said Mikey.
Hearn and DAZN have the money to lure talented superstars like Pacquiao to come over to fight Mikey. With the Saudi money, Pacquiao might be tempted to face Mikey, because it would be a great opportunity for him to be involved in a huge fight. This fight might be bigger than anything Pacquiao has been involved in since his big mega-bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2015.
Mikey wants to earn Pacquiao fight by beating Vargas
“I got big plans for 2020, and this is only the beginning. Don’t believe the figures that you hear,” Mikey continued. “I’m just happy with my agreement, and I look forward to doing bigger things in 2020. I can’t say for sure,” said Mikey when asked if he believes he’ll get a fight against Pacquiao. “I know he has a lot of options. And I would love the opportunity to fight Manny, and I think the fans would enjoy that very much. But I need to get back in the ring.
“I can’t sit around not knowing if I’m going to land that fight or not,” said Mikey about a fight against Pacquiao. “That’s why we decided to get back in the ring, and we’re fighting Jessie Vargas on February 29th to get me back. After that, maybe we can explore the options of Manny,” said Mikey.
If beating Vargas is all it takes for Mikey to earn the fight against Pacquiao, then would be good. Hearn is saying that the Saudis want the Pacquiao vs. Garcia fight to take place in 2020, which means Mikey doesn’t have time to squeeze in another match before facing Manny.
