De La Hoya seeks to pit Pacquiao against 24-year-old American boxer

Boxing legend and promoter Oscar De La Hoya is trying to arrange a fight for boxer Ryan Garcia against Manny Pacquiao.

In April 2023, Garcia lost by technical knockout to compatriot Gervonta Davis, suffering his first professional defeat. The 24-year-old then listed WBA super lightweight champion Rolly Romero, Mexican Isaac Cruz and former lightweight king Teofimo Lopez as his next three potential opponents.

However, De La Hoya wants Garcia to fight Pacquiao in the next match, at catchweight - a match outside the weight class rules. Garcia is a bright star of Golden Boy Promotions, the company of Oscar De La Hoya - the famous Mexican boxer turned promoter.

"It's a very realistic option for both fighters. Imagine Garcia vs. Pacquiao could be the biggest fight for both of them. Do you know how big that fight would be? I'm going to pursue that and see what's the best option for Garcia," De La Hoya told Fight Hub TV on June 1.

De La Hoya sees a fight with Pacquiao as the next best option for Garcia (right). Photo: Clutch Points

But Garcia quickly dismissed the American's views. "This fight is not going to happen. I said what I wanted. So frustrating and tired of this kind of thing," he wrote on Twitter .

Prior to his loss to Davis, Garcia had a perfect record of 23 professional victories, including 19 knockouts. As an amateur, he had a 215-15 record and had won 15 national championships. As of May 2023, Garcia was ranked fifth in the world by The Ring, seventh by BoxRec, and eighth by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Council.

Pacquiao is the only boxer in history to win world titles in eight different weight classes, and is considered one of the greatest boxers in history. During his career, Pacquiao won 62 fights, including 39 knockouts, lost eight and drew two.

Pacquiao last fought for the WBA welterweight title against Yordenis Ugas in Las Vegas on August 21, 2022. After 12 rounds without a knockout, Ugas won with judges scoring 115-113, 116-112, 116-112. After that, the Filipino boxer retired to enter politics. He left open the possibility of returning and fighting British boxer Conor Benn earlier this year, but has not yet agreed on a contract.

De La Hoya (right) is Garcia's manager. Photo: Ring News 24

Oscar De La Hoya was once dubbed the "Golden Boy" after winning the 1992 Olympic gold medal in Barcelona. De La Hoya was also the first boxer to win world championships in six different weight classes.

During his career, the American boxer won 39 matches, with 30 being knockouts, and lost only six matches. De La Hoya retired after losing to Manny Pacquiao at the end of 2008, and turned to being a promoter, with a company named after his nickname - Golden Boy Promotions. This company organized many big matches for boxers such as Ricky Hatton, Canelo Alvarez, Victor Oztiz, Pacquiao, Amir Khan...

Hong Duy

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