Former two-division titleholder Danny Garcia is in the hunt for a big fight again, with recent reports suggesting he’ll be facing WBC and IBF welterweight titleholder Errol Spence Jr in September.
Garcia (36-2, 21 KO) confirmed that there have been talks, but also isn’t counting out fighting Manny Pacquiao instead, in an appearance on The Ak & Barak Show.
“It can be done,” Garcia said of the Spence reports. “I was told either him or Manny Pacquiao. I know I said September, but it should be in the fall. I don’t wanna give false information, but it may be in the fall, either Spence or Manny Pacquiao.”
Asked if he’d rather face the unbeaten Spence (26-0, 21 KO) or the legendary Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KO), Garcia said he has no real preference.
“It doesn’t matter to me at this point. Both of them are champions,” he said. “Spence would be better because I’d win two titles, I’d become a five-time world champion. But beating a legend in Manny Pacquiao, I think that’d be a great thing for my legacy. It doesn’t matter to me at this point.”
Garcia also noted that he was set to face Spence on Jan. 25, which was a done deal before Spence’s one-car accident last fall, which threatened not just the young fighter’s career, but his life. Garcia instead fought Ivan Redkach as a southpaw tune-up, and says he’s very happy he pushed to keep the date.
“I was supposed to fight Spence in January. The fight was done. And I’m glad I did fight in January, because if I didn’t, I would’ve been out of the ring for a long time,” he noted, with his previous fight having come in Apr. 2019.
“I’m glad I pushed for a fight. I feel like everything happens for a reason. I got the southpaw (in Redkach), and now whoever is next, Manny or Spence — it may be looking more like Spence, but if Manny says yes, there’s Manny.”
Garcia, 32, is also aware that whomever he faces, his win may not get the credit he thinks it deserves. Pacquiao is 41 and nobody really knows what kind of shape Spence is truly in or what he’ll look like in a fight.
But Garcia says that’s on them, not him.
“If you ain’t 100 percent, don’t get in the ring. If you ain’t ready, don’t get in the ring. It’s that simple,” he said. “I know they say Manny’s older now, but he’s coming off a big win. So if he’s old, don’t get in the ring. If Spence ain’t better, don’t get in the ring, ‘cause I don’t wanna hear no excuses. I never made no excuses. Source: Badlefthook
