By Sean Jones: Mikey Garcia says he’ll be waiting several more weeks to line up a fight with Manny Pacquiao before moving on to face another opponent for late July or early August.
Mikey, 33, says if he didn’t get Pacquiao, he would be interested in facing the Gervonta Davis vs. Mario Barrios winner or possibly Teofimo Lopez.
Obviously, it won’t be possible for Mikey to fight the winner of the Davis vs. Barrios fight in July or August, though, because their match is taking place on June 27th. That’s too quick of a turnaround for the winner of that fight.
The former four-division world champion Mikey (40-1, 30 KOs) is having difficulty letting go of his goal of fighting Pacquiao, as he says it’s the “perfect fight” for him, but he’s got to move on soon.
It’ll have been 17 to 18 months since Mikey last fought if he fights in July or August, and that’s too much time to devote to trying to land the Pacquiao fight.
Boxing fans have recommended that Mikey give up on the Pacquiao fight for ages now, as his single-minded focus on getting that match-up has derailed his career.
Mikey to move on if not Pacquiao fight
“I hope so. I’m still crossing my fingers for it,” said Mikey Garcia to Snow Queen LA when asked if a fight between him and Manny Pacquiao is still possible.
“It’s not there yet, it hasn’t happened, it hasn’t gotten done. We’ve been going back and forth. He’s got a lot of people on his team, and some give me one answer, and some give me another answer.
“It’s complicated. I’ve had a few proposals, but nothing that is exciting enough for me to sign. They’re good decent proposals, respectable proposals, respectable offers, but when we start working on the real details, they’re not there.
“A few things are lacking. It just hasn’t happened. If it doesn’t happen in the next few weeks, then I’m probably ready to move on and search for another opponent for my next upcoming fight,” Mikey said.
Mikey has been waiting too long for the fight with the 42-year-old Pacquiao. He needs to see that as a hint that Pacquiao might not be as interested in facing him as he believes.
Pacquiao has better options than a fight against inactive Mikey, a guy that is arguably not an elite-level fighter at 147. At 140 or 135, Mikey would still be a factor possibly.
Some would argue that Mikey would lose to the top 140-pounders Jose Ramirez, Josh Taylor, and Regis Prograis. Mikey’s low punch output would hurt his chances of beating those fighters in addition to some of these guys a well:
- Shakhram Giyasov
- Jose Pedraza
- Arnold Barbosa Jr
- Batyrzhan Jukembayev
July or August next fight time frame
“It depends on who’s available for the time frame of late July or early August, weight class 140 or 147,” said Mikey when asked who he might fight next if not Pacquiao.
“I’m hoping I can still get something done so I can get in the ring with Pacquiao. That’s a perfect match-up. And I love that fight. I think he likes it.
“I keep hearing everybody in his team likes the fight, but when it comes to the financials, it’s where things get a little complicated. It’s going good.
“I am staying in shape so that when I have my official date, I can really hit the gym and be 100% focused on the fight and not worry so much about the weight.
“Last year, sure, I wasn’t working out, I wasn’t training, and I gained a lot of weight. But I think a lot of people gained a lot of weight last year. I’m not so bad. I’m training and staying active, which matters the most,” said Mikey.
Mikey’s time frame for his next fight won’t work for him getting a match against the winner of the Gervonta Davis vs. Mario Barrios winner. Regis Prograis would be a better option for Mikey to fight in July or August.
The former WBA light welterweight champion Prograis (26-1, 22 KOs) doesn’t have an opponent picked out yet for his next fight.
Some would argue that Prograis might be a little too good for Mikey, particularly with his focus on cars. Prograis’s first love is boxing, and he’s not spending time on hobbies that drain his focus. For Mikey to beat a guy like Prograis, he can’t be putting his energy into cars instead of training.
Prograis has won his last two fights after coming close to defeating Josh Taylor in the World Boxing Super Series finals in 2019.
Recently, Prograis has been wasting his time calling out Adrien Broner, who has shown no interest in fighting him. If Mikey wants a high-profile opponent for July/August, Prograis would be ideal.
Fighting Gervonta vs. Barrios winner interests Mikey
“Maybe Jose [Ramirez] decides to move up in weight after winning and defending the [IBF, WBA, WBC & WBO] titles for a fight or two or maybe he decides to move up right away,” said Mikey talking about a scenario where Jose Ramirez beats Josh Taylor this Saturday to become the undisputed 140-lb champion.
“If something happens and he vacates a title, and I can come down and fight for a world,” Mikey continued. “We’ll see what happens.
“I’ve got to wait for that first. That has to play out itself. But in the meantime, I can still fight at 147 for a fight or come down to 140 for an interesting fight.
“I’m sure there are names out there that I can get an exciting match-up, but I do have to wait and see what happens with Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor.
“He has a fight with Mario Barrios next. That’s a very good match-up,” said Mikey when asked if he would fight Gervonta Davis.
It would be tough for Mikey to try and beat Gervonta right coming off a long layoff.
Mikey didn’t look that great in his last fight against an arguably washed-up Jessie Vargas in February 2020. Granted, the 147-lb division is totally too big for Mikey, but the problems he showed in that fight would follow him to 140
Mikey letting time decide
“It’s not going to be an easy match for Tank. I think Tank is a terrific fighter, but moving up to 140 and fighting a big guy like Barrios is not an easy task.
“But if things go well on his [Tank Davis] end and that’s an available fight, sure I’ll entertain that offer. I can probably get a fight against him.
“But the same thing with Barrios. This is a great opportunity for Barrios to really get his name out there and show what he’s made of.
“He’s already an interim champion for a reason. He’s a terrific fighter. I’ve trained with him, and I know him.
“That’s also a match-up that could possibly happen. If Barrios wins, that’s an opportunity for me too. There are other names out there. Tank is one of them. We have to let time decide,” Mikey said.
Mikey’s cavalier attitude about getting back in the ring is disturbing, as it shows a fighter that isn’t hungry.
With the money Mikey has made in his fights with Errol Spence Jr and Jessie Vargas, it’s understandable why he’s been casual about returning to the ring.
Nonetheless, that lack of hunger will continue to hurt Mikey if he doesn’t regain his focus and get busy with the time he has left. Boxing isn’t something you can do part-time and stay at the elite level.
Yeah, you can hustle fights, as Floyd Mayweather Jr does, but you can’t beat the elite-level guys as a part-timer. At this point, you’d be hard-pressed to pick many guys that Mikey could beat at 140 and 147.
He’d likely lost to virtually all of the top 10 at 147 and at least the top 5 at 140.
Mikey isn’t active enough with his career, and his anemic Broner-esque punch output would hurt his chances of beating even the fringe contenders in those weight classes.
Teofimo Lopez another option for Garcia
“He’s fighting at 135. He’s planning on moving up to 140 soon,” said Mikey about Teofimo Lopez. “He is a big lightweight,” said Mikey about the prospect of him fighting Teofimo.
“He’s a big lightweight, so he’ll definitely be at 140 by a few fights. That would be a very entertaining match-up for me too.
If he is not involved with Top Rank, that could make things easier. It would facilitate things. As long as he’s with Top Rank, it makes things more complicated.
“But if he’s on his own and is able to dictate fights that he wants, for sure, that’s definitely a fight that I would want to be a part of.
“Triller won the right to his next fight [against George Kambosos r] through the purse bid.
“The sanctioning bodies had a purse bid, any promoter can bid on it, and Triller won the rights.
“I don’t know if they’re going to go back to Top Rank and negotiate something or maybe break away and buy his contract out. I have no clue, so we have to wait and see what happens with that.
“And I can’t do 135 right now,” said Mikey. “I think 140 would be the most ideal weight for me. Like I said, 147 for me in the meantime, but eventually 140,” said Mikey.
Fighting Teofimo Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) would be a bad idea for Mikey right now, as he doesn’t throw enough punches to beat a younger fighter like him.
Also, Teofimo is big enough to fight at 147 and mix it with the best, and you can’t say that about Mikey. We already saw how poor Mikey looked in his one-sided loss to Errol Spence Jr.
