Ryan Garcia’s advisor says Pacquiao fight to happen on April 24th or May 1st

By Boxing News - 01/28/2021 - Comments

By Jeff Aronow: Ryan Garcia’s lawyer Guadalupe Valencia said that the fight between him and Manny Pacquiao could occur on April 24th or May 1st.

It was originally believed that Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) and King Ryan (21-0, 18 KOs) would wait until September to fight.

ESPN Knockout reports the news of the Pacquiao – Garcia match taking place in April or May. What is still being decided is the weight, rounds, and whether the fight will be an exhibition match or not.

Ryan’s rather Henry Garcia said on Wednesday that it would be an exhibition match so that it doesn’t count against the fighter’s record, but he’s still calling it a “real fight.”

It’s unclear what state in the U.S would allow an exhibition match to be fought using normal rules of engagement. The idea behind a fight being an exhibition is so that no one gets hurt. If Ryan and Pacquiao go all out and treat it like a real fight, what’s the use of having it be an exhibition?

Image: Ryan Garcia's advisor says Pacquiao fight to happen on April 24th or May 1st

Ryan’s reputation won’t be better off if he’s knocked out in the exhibition, and it does not count on his official record. The fans are still going to see Ryan get knocked out, and he won’t be able to lessen the impact of a loss of that nature by the fight being an exhibition.

It would be naive on Ryan and his management’s part to assume that fans won’t think less of him because he got knocked out by Manny in an exhibition match rather than the real thing.

The boxing public will look down on Ryan just because he decided to fight Pacquiao in an exhibition match rather than the real thing. By fighting Pacquiao, 42, in an exhibition, it gives one the impression that Ryan is trying to avoid dealing with the repercussions of a knockout loss.

Instead of just going through with the fight and dealing with the potential negative consequences of losing a fight, Ryan would be trying to cushion the negative aftereffects that he’ll receive with his reputation.

If Ryan and his team are listening to what the boxing public says about his plans for an exhibition match against Pacquiao, he needs to cancel that idea.

It’s going to hurt his popularity and reinforce the notion of Ryan being a preening Instagram fighter rather than the real thing.

Image: Ryan Garcia's advisor says Pacquiao fight to happen on April 24th or May 1st

Ryan is at a fork in the road where he can make a move to legitimize his career by fighting Pacquiao in a real fight, or he can go in the opposite direction by fighting him in an exhibition match and giving the fans the impression he’s just looking for the quick money.

Ideally, the young 22-year-old King Ryan shouldn’t fight Pacquiao at all right now, as he looks horrible with the way he’s walking away from his fight against Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.

It looks irresponsible how Ryan build-up the interest in the Tank fight and then walked away from it suddenly for a payday exhibition match against Pacquiao.

Ryan led fans to believe that he would fight Tank Davis, and then he changed his mind with a suddenness that made him look like he lost his nerve.