It appears that the rumors are indeed true. Reports have now confirmed that 22-year-old phenom Ryan Garcia is set to take on boxing legend Manny Pacquiao in what is expected to be an official 12-round welterweight bout.
This report comes via boxing insider Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports:
Both @mannypacquiao and Ryan Garcia have agreed to fight and as Ryan said on his @Instagram story today, it is NO EXHIBITION. The sides are working on securing financing for the fight to finalize it. https://t.co/Nc49QfCUhf
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) January 30, 2021
Garcia himself recently made the announcement on social media, as he cleared up rumors about the fight being nothing more than an exhibition match:
“Hey everybody, I just want to make it real clear: My fight with Pacquiao would not be an exhibition,” Garcia said on his Instagram story (h/t Yahoo Sports). “It will be a real fight, shooting for 12 rounds, all on the line. Our records will be on the line. I just want to make that very clear for everybody.”
Garcia, who is coming off a KO win in December against Luke Campbell to claim the interim WBC lightweight title, has emerged as one of the fastest rising stars in the world of professional boxing. The American fighter will put his undefeated record to the test against one of the greatest of all time in Pacquiao. Currently, Garcia has battled in a total of 21 professional fights, having won 18 of them by knockout.
On the other hand, Manny Pacquiao, who currently serves as a Senator in his home country of the Philippines, returns to the ring after a lengthy hiatus. The last time the 42-year-old legend fought was back in July 2019 in a split-decision win against Keith Thurman.
Both the date and venue of this highly-anticipated bout has yet to be finalized.
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