Ahead of his clash with Ivan Redkach in Brooklyn next weekend, two-weight World champion Danny Garcia has stated that he believes he can topple welterweight kingpins Errol Spence Jr and Manny Pacquiao in 2020.
The 31-year-old sees the southpaw Redkach as good preparation for the top-tier welterweight pair, who he has publicly targeted for later in the year. Speaking in camp ahead of his ring return, Garcia said:
“I feel like my style is dangerous for both Spence and Pacquiao. For Errol, I see he likes to stand in front of his opponents and he isn’t the hardest guy to hit. With Manny, I feel like my counter punching and style would also be hard for him. So, I like my chances against both of them.”
With Garcia’s battle with Redkach serving as a WBC World title eliminator, an all-American showdown with Spence could be on the cards for later in the year should there be no slip-ups next Saturday.
Garcia acknowledged that he cannot afford to look beyond the 33-year-old Redkach, who is coming off a career-best victory in June against Devon Alexander. The Ukrainian will be hoping to gatecrash the World scene in what will be just his 2nd bout since moving up to 147lbs.
“I noticed that Redkach is really hungry,” Garcia said. “He obviously wants to win, and he’s coming off of three solid victories. He has his confidence back now. I just have to be ready for whatever he brings to the table on January 25.
“I caught some highlights of his fight against Devon, but not the whole fight. I saw the full Molina fight though, and I know what I’m up against. Molina caught him, but before that, Ivan was doing well. He just got careless. So I just have to be on my A-game and make no mistakes.”