By Sean Jones: Mikey Garcia says he would bet up to $2 million on himself if he gets the fight against Manny Pacquiao. Mikey (40-1, 33 KOs) believes that a fight against Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) is possible, and he’s waiting to see if he can happen this year.
Mikey betting on himself would appear to be a foolish move because he’s looked poor in his two fights at 147 against Errol Spence Jr and Jessie Vargas.
Garcia hasn’t shown the kind of ability at welterweight that would make it a good idea for him to plunk down $2 million or even $1 million on himself.
If so, the former four-division world champion Mikey believes he’ll get a large purse against the 42-year-old superstar Pacquiao. It would be a fight that would likely be sold on pay-per-view.
What Mikey has going against him in getting the fight with Pacquiao is his inactivity, as well as the weight that he’s put on. Mikey, 33, hasn’t fought in 13 months, and he’s put on a lot of weight.
Even though Mikey has already started training, he’s still looking heavy, and he clearly will need a lot of time and hard work to get down to 147
Mikey ready to bet on himself
“My whole purse? No, but I will bet some money, I told you. I’d probably bet a million on it,” said Mikey Garcia to ESNEWS on his hoped-for fight against Pacquiao.
“Yeah,” said Mikey when asked if he’d beat $2 million on himself to beat Pacquiao.
“I’ve said it before. I never said my whole purse. I’m not that stupid. What if I hurt my hand or if I fall or something or something stupid like that? You never know. But if I’m getting a big purse, and I expect to get a good purse, I‘m down to at least one million bucks.
Last year, f***,” said Mikey about coming close to fight Manny last year. “It never happened, but we were very close to getting it done. If I was going to get a two-fight deal, don’t you think I would bet some money on myself? Of course, I would.
“It’s not official but his team and himself; they like the fight, it makes sense, and it’s the best fight that I can also get,” Mikey said about him facing Pacquiao next.
“If he’s on board and I’m on board, we should just get everything else straightened out. I hope to get it, man,” Mikey said about him, hoping that he can get the Pacquiao fight.
It’s one thing for Mikey to talk about betting $1 million on himself against Pacquiao, but it’s another thing for him actually to do it. Mikey is already losing out on massive money by sitting inactive for long periods.
If Mikey had stayed active in the last year, he could have fought three times and made excellent money.
You can argue that if Mikey had fought three times last year, he’d have made the one money he would get from fighting Pacquiao.
It’s hard to understand Mikey not taking advantage o the little time he has let in his career by staying active and competing as much as possible.
With that said, if Mikey did choose to fight, he would be expected to fight contenders at 147, and it’s unlikely that he could beat any of them.
Garcia waiting until the Pacquiao fight is signed
“Why would I keep saying the same thing over and over. Until it’s official and we finally have a contract signed,” said Mikey in not wanting to talk about the Pacquiao fight until it’s signed.
“It would mean that much more for me to win a world title at 147. I know for a fact that Manny hits really hard, and he’s very fast,” said Mikey.
“I know for a fact that he’s fast, and he’s strong. He hits hard, and he’s very fast. The very first punch of the first second of the first round that we got in the ring.
“The bell rings, and I’m doing this, coming forward. The first thing he does, a straight left, hard, boom. ‘Oh, f***. Okay.’ I didn’t expect that. After that, he never got me again with that. I was smart.
“I started boxing. I don’t know if it was [Erik] Morales or [Juan Manuel] Marquez [that Pacquiao was preparing for]. They asked me to fight in that style, counter-punching.
“So I did, and I think we did very well. We did great, and they kept calling us to come back. We were there for a whole month, sparring three days a week.
“Towards the end, we were sparring 10 rounds straight with him. 8 rounds, 10 rounds a couple of days. It was good sparring. He’s genuinely a good person,” said Mikey about his time sparring with Pacquiao.
Hopefully, Mikey doesn’t spend the entire year sitting and waiting for the Pacquiao fight like he did in 2020.
At some point, Mikey needs to move on and start fighting again. It’s pathetic for him to be sitting and waiting uselessly for a fight that might never happen.