Manny Pacquiao-Mikey Garcia: Could It Happen This Year?

Mikey Garcia’s co-trainer, his brother Robert, chatted with TSS on Tuesday at the Kingsway gym during a workout for media ahead of of the Saturday card at the MSG Theater, promoted by Top Rank and topped by a Mikey Garcia junior lightweight title defense against Juan Carlos Burgos.

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Robert said that his little bro isn’t running worried, because he got dropped in his last bout, against Rocky Martinez, in round two. He came roaring back to stop Martinez in round eight of that November clash, so, the trainer said, “It’s a learning experience for Mikey.”

It would be understandable if Team Garcia were somewhat distracted by talk of what’s next for Mikey, especially because Burgos is coming off back to back draws, and promoter Bob Arum has mentioned Mikey as a possible foe down the line for Manny Pacquiao.

“I do picture (a fight against Pacquiao) happening,” Robert said. “But we’re focusing on Mikey’s fight against Burgos. So we don’t talk to Mikey about it, but myself, manager Cameron Dunkin, our father, talk about it. It’s something that definitely could happen, and if Tim Bradley versus Pacquiao happens, and Manny wins, it’s a very interesting fight.”

And, I asked, could it be Mikey’s next fight, if he gets past Burgos in NYC? “It’s all up to Cameron Dunkin, he’s the manager, but I think it’s a fight that definitely will happen, especially if Manny beats Bradley. It’s gonna be a hard fight for Manny against Bradley, Bradley’s had some great wins, but if Manny wins, I could see it happening by the end of the year.”

Readers, your thoughts on that? Making leaps in weight class are possible–hello, Pacman started out at 106 pounds in 1995, and now campaigns at 147 pounds. He was at 126 as recently as March 2008, and then went from 135 (June 2008), to 140 (May 2009), to 147 (Nov. 2009). But this jump, from 126 (Jan. 2013), to 147 or thereabouts in, say, Sept. 2104, would mean a leap of four weight classes, over 20 months. Even for a growing body, even in this age of specialized strength and conditioning methods, that seems daunting to me. You?

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