Ryan Garcia had been saying he wanted to face Gervonta Davis next. Apparently, that is no longer the case.
On Sunday evening, Garcia took to Instagram, where he over 8.4 million followers, and announced he would be taking on Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao nor Garcia's team at Golden Boy Promotions have made any statement on the news.
Garcia had previously suggested that it would be a ‘dream’ to take on the Filipino legend, who at 42 is fighting far less often than he had in his prime.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Californian Garcia has emerged on the scene as one of several promising lightweight contenders in a division stacked with talent. The American’s last fight came against British veteran Luke Campbell, with Garcia winning with by knockout with a brutal body shot in the seventh round despite being knocked down for the first team in his career earlier in the contest.
One obstacle to a fight is that Pacquiao currently operates in the welterweight division and holds the WBA title, which is two classes higher than Garcia, who has never fought higher than 135 pounds.
A Garcia vs. Pacquiao fight would be a colossal money-spinner given Garcia's huge social media popularity and Pacquiao's status as one of the greatest fighters of all time. However, if this fight is next up for the pair, it would reflect a change in plans for them both, as Pacquaio's camp talked about a clash with UFC fighter Conor McGregor. The latter's loss to Dustin Poirier at Saturday's UFC 257 likely pushes those plans to the wayside.