It’s only a matter of time before the next big fight is staged in Saudi Arabia. There is huge – as in elephantine huge – money to be earned by fighting there if you are a star fighter. There is talk of a monster heavyweight unification showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua taking place there (with something like 400 million being offered), while just this weekend, talk came up regarding a super-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Mikey Garcia being staged in Saudi this summer.
At the post-fight presser for Garcia’s great win over Jessie Vargas, promoter Eddie Hearn said that the Garcia-Pacquiao fight is the one he will get busy working on in the coming weeks and that “Saudi is the plan for this fight.”
It’s a great fight, a big fight, as Mikey said himself, it’s a “legacy fight.” Garcia says it would be a real honour for him to fight “living legend” Pacquiao, but that he can show his own greatness in the fight. As far as fighting Pacquiao in Saudi Arabia, Garcia said a ring is a ring, “with four corners, it doesn’t matter where the fight is held.”
So could Pacquiao and Garcia give boxing the next Saudi super fight? Wherever its held, this fight is big. Two locks for The Hall of Fame, with well over 100 fights between them, with Pacquiao and Garcia each having won world titles at a multitude of weights. This one would/will be enormous.
But who wins? Pacquiao looked great in his last fight, when he knocked down and decisioned Keith Thurman last July, as Garcia says himself. While Garcia looked like a real welterweight in the win over Vargas (who of course fought Pacquiao a few years ago, dropping a decision). How much longer can the incredible Pacquiao carry on for? Would Pacquiao be able to pull out one more big win in a fight with Garcia?
In terms of legacy, Manny has done it all. Mikey perhaps wants this win more, his own legacy and greatness cemented with it. This fight would very likely be all action, perhaps for all 12 rounds. Or can Pac Man score one last hugely impressive KO? Or might Garcia make a real statement by halting Pacquiao?
There would be plenty at stake in this fight. Let’s see if Hearn can strike up a deal and make it happen. A tagline for this one would be “The Legacy Fight.”
