MANILA, Philippines – I will be ready. 

That is the assurance Mikey Garcia made after hearing the camp of Manny Pacquiao say that the Filipino is still interested in a bout with the American. 

“Leading up to the (Jessie) Vargas fight, we were already in conversation with Team Pacquiao, having a few discussions,” Garcia said in the Boxing With Chris Mannix podcast. 

“It seemed like things were shaping up pretty well with Manny Pacquiao getting on board to maybe getting a fight with me. Things went south with the whole pandemic and everything had to wait.” 

Although the coronavirus has brought uncertainty to fight talks, Garcia found hope as matchmaker and MP Promotions head Sean Gibbons recently said that Pacquiao “would love to entertain a fight.” 

“[H]earing his team, Sean Gibbons, say that that’s a fight that they want, that they’re excited to push forward on that, that’s exciting,” Garcia said. 

“That’s a fight that I’ve always wanted – a fight that I think fans would love and appreciate.” 

Garcia was once at the top of the boxing scene as he held the IBF and WBC lightweight titles but saw his unbeaten record tainted following a defeat to Errol Spence Jr for the IBF welterweight crown. 

After bouncing back from the first loss of his professional career with a points victory over Vargas, Garcia has set his sights on WBA welterweight king Pacquiao. 

“Once things get back on track, that’s a fight that I’m going to go after,” Garcia said. 

Garcia added a tuneup bout before facing Pacquiao is not necessary. 

“I think I would be ready to go into a big fight like a Manny Pacquiao fight right away. I don’t feel like there’s a need to have a tuneup fight at this point.”

“As long as I get my 10 weeks of training that I require for my fight, I think I’ll be good to go,” Garcia said. – Rappler.com