Mikey Garcia speaking in Las Vegas (Photo: Chris Robinson – www.HustleBoss.com)
By Chris Robinson
Following his rematch victory over Tim Bradley earlier this month, Manny Pacquiao has received mostly positive feedback from boxing fans and insiders.
Extracting revenge against Bradley for a controversial split-decision loss he suffered to him in June of 2012, Pacquiao was sharp with his fists and fleet of foot, especially as he built up momentum and pulled away in the second half of the match.
Catching up with reigning WBO junior lightweight champion Mikey Garcia to get his thoughts on the fight, he too seemed impressed with Pacquiao’s effort.
“He performed better than I expected,” Garcia admitted. “I was expecting Bradley to perform a lot better than the first fight and make it a more interesting fight for him. But Bradley kind of faded after a four or five rounds. Started to fad a little bit and wasn’t using his speed or footwork.
“But Pacquiao showed a lot,” Garcia added. “He showed good footwork, good power, more aggressive style this fight than the last time. He did real well.”
It’s been confirmed that Top Rank is interested in putting Pacquiao in the ring with the winner of the May 17 Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Mike Alvarado matchup. Pacquiao has already faced Marquez four times and Garcia is unsure how a fifth fight would appeal to everyone.
“Marquez, we’ve seen that many times,” Garcia explained. “I don’t know if people will want to keep watching it. They’ll watch it because it’s them two, but I’d rather see Pacquiao fight some other younger upcoming fighters or young champions. Marquez could probably fight somebody else also. They already fought many times. Everybody’s seen that.”
Of course, a Marquez victory over Alvarado isn’t for certain, as Garcia took a minute to assess the clash.
“It’s going to be a tough fight,” said Garcia. “Alvarado always gives everything. He comes in and puts everything on the line. He’s very strong. Take a punch. Give a punch. Marquez is going to try to counter him. I think Marquez will eventually counter him to the point where he could maybe start hurting him little by little. It’s a very tough fight for both of them.”
Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com