By Dan Ambrose: Mikey Garcia states that Manny Pacquiao is still his primary target for his next fight but if he’s unable, he’d be willing to face Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, or Terence Crawford next.
Speaking with Premier Boxing Champions, Mikey revealed that he would be willing to fight any of those top welterweights/ If he can’t get the fight that he wants against Pacquiao, then he’ll entertain a fight against one of the other top PBC fighters.
Pay-per-view a MUST for Mikey
One big problem that Mikey, 32, would have is he maintains that a fight between him and any of the top welterweights would be huge fights, and therefore they would be on pay-per-view. Unfortunately, with the economy the way it is right now, it would be a tough ask to get boxing fans to pay $80 to see a Mikey face the top welterweights.
It’s excellent that Mikey captured world titles in four weight classes at 126, 130, 135, and 140, but at 147, his record is 1-1. Mikey’s only win was against badly faded second-tier fighter Jessie Vargas, who’s career tanked in 2016. When Mikey stepped up against IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. in 2019, he lost a lopsided 12 round decision.
The fight wasn’t competitive at all, and it seemed evident that Mikey doesn’t belong at 147 or even 140. He’s too small. Additionally, the fact that Mikey struggled to beat the over-the-hull Vargas last February further confirmed in the minds of fans that he doesn’t belong at welterweight.
Mikey wants top guys at 147
“The welterweight division is stacked with terrific talent,” said Mikey Garcia to Premier Boxing Champions. “All the names you mentioned, I think, would be terrific fights. “I’d be interested in getting in with everybody. The thing is, are they willing to do it?
“I’m willing to be flexible, but I don’t know if everybody is available,” said Mikey. “I think a great match-up with be Danny Garcia. And I think that would be a terrific fight. I know he was in search of a Spence or Manny Pacquiao fight. So maybe he was in search of that fight before facing me.
“He already fought Keith, and he already fought Shawn Porter, but I haven’t fought them. I’d be willing to fight them. I think those would be terrific fights also. For sure,” said Mikey when asked if he’d be willing to fight Porter if he can’t get Pacquiao next.
“Look, Manny Pacquiao would be the ideal fight for me. That’s the fight that I would entertain the most. If that offer were offered to me, I would entertain it the most. But if Manny says, ‘I’m not fighting Mikey’ for whatever reasons. ‘I’m fighting Danny or Errol,’ then I’ll have to look for whoever is available and whoever is left,” said Mikey.
It’s admirable that Mikey says he wants to fight the top welterweights in the division, but until he does, you have to view what he says with suspicion. We mostly know that Mikey is trying hard t get a fight against 41-year-old Pacquiao.
That’s the one that Mikey continually talks about, and it’ a fight that he doesn’t deserve based on what he’s done at welterweight. Mike’s body of work at 147 is too limited for him to earn a title shot. Right now, Mikey is fighting at a C-level at welterweight with his 1-1 record after two fights in the weight class.
Mikey wants Danny Garcia if Pacquiao not available
“If he looks to fight Shawn Porter, then I may look to fight Danny Garcia,” continued Mikey on Pacquiao. “But if Danny is looking for Errol, then the only one left is Keith. I would go with Keith. The only name that I’m not looking at that much because I know the business would be near impossible would be Crawford.
“Having seen Bob Arum say not the nicest things about me, I think that fight would be out of the question. I’ve seen and heard Bob say some things about me that tells me he doesn’t want to work. It’s not that I wouldn’t fight Crawford.
“I don’t think he has anything against fighting me. He would love to fight, but being that he’s with Top Rank and Arum, that just complicates things for the moment. I think I would look at other options, as you mentioned—other names.
“Shawn Porter stands and fights in the ring. He’s exciting fights every single time. I think the fans would love that—the same with Keith. Kith is there to fight. He’s been a champion, a unified champion. I think that would be a terrific fight for the fans to watch,” said Mikey.
From what Mikey is saying, he’s making it clear that if he can’t get the Pacquiao fight, then he wants to face former two-division world champion Danny Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs). Of all the PBC welterweights, Danny is viewed by a lot of fans as the weakest. He’s already lost to Thurman and Porter.
So it doesn’t look like a brave move on Mikey’s part for him to have Danny as his second option if he fails to get a fight with Pacquiao.
It would look a lot more courageous on Mikey’s part if his plan-B move were for him to face the likes of Crawford, Porter or Thurman. Any of those guys would make Mikey look bold if one of them were his second choice. Picking Danny as his #2 makes Mikey appear to be a cherry-picker. We already saw that from Mikey with him facing Varas.
Crawford an option
“I’m open to fighting anybody,” said Mikey. “I would definitely like to fight Crawford. Bob [Arum] always says I’m too difficult to negotiate with, and that I’m asking for a lot of money. I’d be asking for way too much money.
“I’ll ask him. ‘When has he spoken to me about a fight?’ Never. Zero,” Mikey said about Arum not speaking with him. “When have we discussed a fight? Never. Zero. Not since 2014. Not since then. So I don’t know what he’s saying when he says I’m asking for too much money, you know?
“Maybe his people are telling him that. And maybe his workers and employers are telling him that I’m too difficult,” Mikey continued about Arum. “Maybe that’s what’s going on.
“And maybe he’s not getting the right information, but I never sat and discussed anything with Bob Arum with a fight with any of his fighters with either Crawford or Lomachenko.
“But he always says I’m asking for numbers outside of the stratosphere, which is completely a lie. I’ve never discussed these fights with anybody at Top Rank. Not a single time. I would fight with anybody. If he [Arum] invited me over to discuss a potential fight with Crawford, I’d be happy to do so.
“We can do the figure and do the accounting the right way with no one being greedy; then we have a fight, you know?” Mikey said in negotiating with Arum. “But I also understand how business is run and how he runs his business. It’s very different than how I would like to run that fight, you know? So it probably wouldn’t happen.
“It’s one of those cases. Why chase something that probably isn’t going to happen.,” said Mikey.
As Mikey points out, that negotiating with Top Rank boss Bob Arum would seem to be all but impossible for him. As such, a fight between Mikey and Crawford would be out of the question
PBC welterweights more likely for Mikey
“So if I have other options with Shawn or Keith or Danny or Manny or Errol Spence or any of the other guys, I’m more likely to do this,” said Mikey. “I think all of these fights would be huge fights because all of these fighters have become champion more than once.
“All of these fighters have become champions more than once in multiple divisions, and so have I. So all of these fights will be huge fights, mainly because people want to see the best fighting the best.
“Danny already fought Keith and already fought Shawn [and lost]. Manny fought Keith. Shawn Porter fought Keith [and lost]. I think we’re in the mix, which makes for bigger fights.
“I’m someone they haven’t fought. So I’m sure the fans would love to see me in the ring with all of these guys,” said Mikey.
I have serious doubts that Mikey would pick Crawford over Danny, Thurman, or Porter as his plan-B if he can’t get the fight against Pacquiao that he badly covets.
. With that said, would Mikey look in Crawford’s direction if a match against him were possible?