Ryan Garcia has announced that he will retire from boxing by the time he’s 26, but has suggested he could then move onto MMA.
The 22-year-old Californian’s next fight looks set to be with Gervonta Davis, despite Devin Haney remaining keen on fighting the WBC interim champion.
However, speaking to the Rich Eisen Show, he suggested that the long-term plan looks a little different.
"You know what I'm willing to do? And I haven't said this out loud. Say at 26 I'm done, I've retired from boxing. You know what I'll do?” he said.
"If someone says I've beaten everybody in the ring, I'll go prove to them that I'm the best all-round fighter in the world. I'm talking about hands, I'm talking about wrestling.
"I will go to MMA to prove a point that God is greatest.
"And I'll go beat whoever it is in MMA they say I won't beat. If it has to be Conor McGregor, I will.
“I'm not saying this to get money, I don't care about money. I'm saying this because that's how I feel.”
Garcia’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya has suggested that one fight for this year or early 2022 could be a meeting with Manny Pacquiao, using as a way to mark the changing of the guard between veterans such as the Filipino legend, and Garcia, part of a new generation of lightweights to emerge.
Garcia said of the possibility: "Maybe after Gervonta, hopefully, this is out of respect. ... Can we share that ring together and please pass that torch to me?"