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Ryan Garcia’s dream of stepping into the ring to face Manny Pacquiao will have to remain just that for now, according to his promoter.
Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes the 22-year-old Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs), told ESPN Knockout that a fight between the two is not on the cards.
“There’s nothing to talk about there,” Golden Boy executive Eric Gomez told ESPN. “They contacted us, but it turns out there is nothing to talk about. That fight is not going to happen.”
However, Guadalupe Valencia, who represents Garcia, told The Athletic that the door is still open for the fight to take place.
“We are discussing the terms,” Valencia said. “Manny and Ryan want it and they instructed their teams to do it. That’s what we’re trying to achieve.”
Garcia, the interim WBC lightweight champion who defeated Luke Campbell by knockout on Jan. 2, posted a mock poster on Instagram this week promoting a possible fight between him and Pacquiao.
“You get a call and someone says, ‘You can fight Manny Pacquiao.’ What are you going to say to that? “Garcia told ESPN.
Valencia told ESPN on Friday that there is great interest in a no-show fight between the boxers and mentioned the last week of April or the first week of May as a possible date. Valencia said Pacquiao’s representatives reached out first to gauge interest.
However, Gomez said that Pacquiao’s group was new to boxing, so there was nothing to build on or discuss. He added that after he and Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya met with Top Rank’s Bob Arum, he considers lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez as Garcia’s next potential opponent.
“Teofimo is more feasible,” Gomez said. “It’s one of the fights Ryan Garcia is obviously interested in. It could be a great fight.”
Pacquiao’s last fight was on July 19, winning a split decision over Keith Thurman for the WBA welterweight title. Pacquiao, 42 (62-7-3, 39 KOs) was designated a “champion in recess” Friday by the organization.
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