Pacquiao-Garcia seems likely to happen after all, but it will be four-weight champion Mikey and not young superstar Ryan standing in the opposite corner to the Filipino fight legend in May.
With a bout against Californian hot property Ryan Garcia heavily mooted in January, it appears Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) has changed direction and will face veteran Mikey instead, having explored the possibility of that fight in Saudi Arabia last year before the Coronavirus scuppered those plans.
Mikey Garcia (40-1, 30 KOs) has claimed the Pacquiao fight is almost done for a busy May schedule that already includes Canelo Alvarez vs Billy Joe Saunders (May 8) and Josh Taylor vs Jose Ramirez (May 22) – with an announcement imminent.
“We’re finalising all of the details. We hope to get the exact date and location in the next few days. We’re trying to get everything done for May,” Garcia told journalist Jo Ankier.
“It’s been in the works for a long time, particularly more in detail in the last year. Now, in the last few weeks, we’ve been getting very close to working on this and finalising it. I’m pretty excited.
“We’ll have all of the details set in the next few days. It’s a matter of time. So far, it seems like all of the parties are on board. I’m excited for it.
“It’s a great fight. I think it’s great for my career and for the fans. It’s very exciting for boxing in general to see this type of fight. We’ve been working on this for years. We were almost ready for this before Covid-19 happened. Now it seems like things are back on track.
“Now to share the ring with a living legend like Manny does amazing things for my career. I just hope that the fans appreciate this. It’s not very often that you see two of the greatest fighters face each other. Right now, that’s what we’re about to do. I’m about to face a legend.”