Former four division world champion Mikey Garcia is still very motivated to get his hands on Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao, who holds the WBA welterweight title, has been out of the ring since capturing the title with a decision win over Keith Thurman in July of 2019.
Garcia saw action earlier this year when he picked up a dominant decision win over Jessie Vargas.
According to Garcia, there were already a few conversations with Team Pacquiao, but the contest was placed on hold when the coronavirus pandemic erupted in mid-March.
“Leading up to the Vargas fight, we were already in conversation with Team Pacquiao, having a few discussions,” Garcia said to Chris Mannix.
“It seemed like things were shaping up pretty well with Manny Pacquiao getting on board to maybe getting a fight with me. Things went south with the whole pandemic and everything had to wait.”
MP Promotions CEO Sean Gibbons recently named Garcia as a frontrunner to face Pacquiao in the fall.
That’s music to the ears of Garcia, who feels ready to go directly to a Pacquiao fight when the opportunity is presented.
“Hearing his team, Sean Gibbons, say that that’s a fight that they want, that they’re excited to push forward on that, that’s exciting,” Garcia said. “That’s a fight that I’ve always wanted – a fight that I think fans would love and appreciate.
“Once things get back on track, that’s a fight that I’m going to go after. I think I would be ready to go into a big fight like a Manny Pacquiao fight right away. I don’t feel like there’s a need to have a tuneup fight at this point. As long as I get my 10 weeks of training that I require for my fight, I think I’ll be good to go.”
–boxingscene.com
