Errol Spence threatens to Go “Rogue” if Manny Pacquiao faces Mikey Garcia

By Boxing News - 07/29/2020 - Comments

By Chris Williams: Errol Spence Jr isn’t too happy about the possibility of Manny Pacquiao facing Mikey Garcia next. The unbeaten IBF/WBC welterweight champion Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) posted on social media that he would be “Going Rogue” if it happens.

Errol was a little vague with what he meant, but it’s apparent that he’s talking about Pacquiao, 41, fighting Mikey, which would be an incredibly easy fight for him.

Many boxing fans believe the main reason Mikey has moved up to welterweight is to hustle fights against the big names to help pad his retirement. In other words, Mikey is just looking for paydays against fighters that he doesn’t match up with talent-wise.

Should Pacquiao be given a pass for fighting Mikey?

Pacquiao’s fans believe that he’s done enough in his career for him to be allowed to choose whoever he wanted, even when he is taking on a lesser talent like Mikey Garcia.

In the lighter weight classes, Mikey was a good fighter, but in jumping up from 135 to 147, he doesn’t have the work rate, size, or the hand speed to compete against the top-level welterweights.

Mikey’s win over Jessie Vargas earlier this year doesn’t count because he’s not a top welterweight. Vargas never beat anyone good at 147, and he lost badly to an over-the-hill Tim Bradley in 2015.

They think Pacquiao has earned the right to pad his record against a fighter like Mikey rather than risk his neck facing Spence, Shawn Porter, or Terence Crawford.

Their feelings towards Pacquiao still doesn’t erase the fact that Mikey Garcia, who has a 1-1 record at 147 in his two fights in the weight class, doesn’t deserve another title shot.

Mikey fought for a world title last year in March 2019 and was beaten by IBF welterweight champion Spence by a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision.

The scores for the Spence-Garcia fight were as follows:

  • 120-107
  • 120-108
  • 120-108

Since losing to Spence, Mikey fought second-tier welterweight [read: non-top 15 ranked] Jessie Vargas last February and beat him by a 12 round decision.

Pacquiao ducking Spence?

Sean Gibbons of Manny Pacquiao let the cat out of the bag this week by posting a photo of Keith Thurman and Mikey Garcia standing together, adding the caption “One down one to go.”

Image: Errol Spence threatens to Go "Rogue" if Manny Pacquiao faces Mikey Garcia

The comment from Gibbons could only mean that Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) will be fighting #3 WBA, #3 WBO, #4 WBC Mikey (40-1, 30 KOs) next. Manny already beat former WBA welterweight champion Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs) by a 12 round split decision last year in July. So, Thurman would be the “one down,” while Mikey would be the “one to go.”

It’s difficult not to see what Pacquiao is doing as a duck job if he selects Mikey, a fighter that Spence beat the brakes off of last year in Arlington, Texas.

Pacquiao was at the Spence-Garcia fight, and that was construed that he would fight the winner. However, when Spence defeated Mikey, some believe that Pacquiao wanted no part of facing him.

So rather than taking on Spence, Manny fought the faded Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman, who at 31 is a mere shadow of the fighter he was in his prime between 2012 and 2017.

Garcia hasn’t done anything at welterweight

Mikey Garcia isn’t a bum, but he also hasn’t done enough at 147 to be given the ranking that he has by the WBA, WBC, and WBO. Those three all have Mikey ranked in the top five, even though he hasn’t beaten a contender at 147 and lost last year to Spence by a one-sided decision.

If Mikey had beaten a quality contender like Yordenis Ugas, he would rate a high ranking at 147, but he hasn’t done that. He beat Jessie Vargas, a fighter that has done nothing with his career since losing to Manny in 2016.

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Jessie Vargas’s fights since 2017:

  • Arron Herrera (35-11-1, 24 KOs) – UD 10 win
  • Adrien Broner – draw 12
  • Thomas Dulorme – draw 12
  • Humberto Soto [40-years-old] TKO 6 win

Some boxing fans believe that Mikey has talked his way into the Pacquiao fight by continually calling him out and telling the media about how he thinks he’ll do well against him. Garcia is taking the backdoor approach to getting a fight against by taking on a soft welterweight in Vargas and then talking his way into it.