Ryan Garcia will go for a knockout against Manny Pacquiao

WBC interim lightweight champion Ryan Garcia has vowed to pour everything he’s got should he get the chance to trade leather with his idol Manny Pacquiao.

The camps of both fighters were reported to be negotiating for a potential showdown this year after former UFC two-division world champion Conor McGregor was dropped as a potential opponent for Pacquiao after the Irish lost at UFC 257.

It was said that the Pacquiao versus Garcia fight would be a mere exhibition, meaning that the result would neither be official on their record. Regardless of the rules, the confident 22-year-old says that he would be coming to put the Filipino ring icon to sleep.

“The fight is going to be a fight. Whether they named it an exhibition or a real certified match, I'm throwing punches like I'm trying to knock Manny Pacquiao out,” Garcia told ESPN.

“If you get two people in the ring with eight or ten-ounce gloves with no headgear, you tell me if that would be an exhibition or a real fight knowing that we're both real fighters. I'm not going in there to throw pillow punches,” he stressed.

“I'm throwing the punches I throw and I'm sure Manny will throw the punches he throws. You guys can call it whatever you want," he added.

Garcia is coming off his biggest win to date following a seventh-round technical knout over Luke Campbell earlier this month. Pacquiao, meanwhile, has not fought since July 2019 when he defeated Keith Thurman. The World Boxing Association (WBA) has in fact declared Pacquiao a Champion in Recess, stripping him of his Super Champion belt due to inactivity.

Though Garcia fights at 135 pounds and Pacquiao at 147, the young athlete stressed that it is not an issue as he is willing to move up in weight to fight the Filipino.

“We're still talking about [the weight differential]. That could be worked around very easily. Whatever Manny wants for the weight to be at, I can do it. I'm a big boy. I'm not a small 135, I'm a pretty big 135. If I have to gain weight, I will," he said. —KG, GMA News