In this video interview with Fight Hype, Mikey Garcia talks a bit about what he’s got on his plate and what’s the next move he’s trying to make in boxing — which is still a fight against Manny Pacquiao. Check out some excerpts below...
Mikey Garcia about a prospective fight against Manny Pacquiao:
“We don’t know yet. We were talking, you know, to Team Pacquiao earlier in the year, before my fight with Jesse, and, you know, they were excited to possibly get a fight with me. But this whole COVID situation came down on everybody and it really slowed down things. So we don’t know if that’s still gonna be the plan for Manny. I mean, he’s got a lot of options too.
“It’s been a year since he last fought so who knows if he still wants to fight me next, or maybe he wants to fight somebody else. I haven’t spoken to the team in a long time, so I have no clue. I would love to get a fight with Manny...I think that would be a terrific fight, styles make fights and I think that would be great, not only for me but I think the fans would really enjoy it. I hope we can clear this whole thing soon, for everybody to get healthy and not be afraid of the virus. Hopefully the develop some kind of vaccine or something that can really control this and help.
“And when that does (happen), the first thing we’re gonna do is try to push for a Manny fight. That’s the goal on my agenda.”
On how he would approach a fight with Pacquiao:
“I feel that I would be able to box and counterpunch, use my skills that way to try to make the fight in my favor. If I stayed in the pocket and trading punches, I think that would be a mistake. I gotta be able to move, I gotta be able to dodge punches, I gotta be able counter, I gotta punch in combination to those counters, similar to the way Juan Manuel Marquez fought.
“If I stayed and tried to trade punches with him, I think he would overwhelm me with punches because he punches in five-six-seven punch combinations and moves around different angles. So I’m not gonna do that. I think I would box, try to box effectively on the outside and then counterpunch in combination. I think that’s the key to a fight with Manny.”