© Provided by Boxing Junkie Manny Pacquiao has whittled his list of prospective opponents for his next fight down to two: Mikey Garcia and Terence Crawford.
Pacquiao told the Filipino outlet ABS-CBN that he's leaning toward Garcia, who seemed to be the leading candidate before the possibility of a bout with MMA star Conor McGregor and then lightweight Ryan Garcia came and went.
Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) hasn't fought since he defeated Keith Thurman by a split decision at 40 years old to win a piece of the welterweight title in July 2019.
"We're leaning towards Mikey Garcia, but we're also talking to Crawford," Pacquiao said. "It depends on who I get to face. What's important is I'm ready. We never really got complacent, we've always continuously worked out.
"We keep on playing basketball aside from boxing. Actually, right after my fight the last time with Thurman, I didn't work out boxing, but I kept playing basketball."
Garcia (40-1, 30 KOs) told television interviewer Jo Ankier after the Canelo Alvarez-Avni Yildirim fight on Feb. 27 that he and Pacquiao were near a deal to fight in May.
"We're finalizing all of the details," Garcia said. "We hope to get the exact date and location in the next few days. We're trying to get everything done for May. It's been in the works for a long time, particularly more in detail in the last year.
"Now, in the last few weeks, we've been getting very close to working on this and finalizing it. I'm pretty excited. We'll have all of the details set in the next few days. It's a matter of time. So far, it seems like all of the parties are on board. I'm excited for it."
Many believe Garcia (40-1, 30 KOs) is an ideal opponent for Pacquiao because he's a small welterweight - like Pacquiao - and he has a strong track record, having won major titles in four divisions.
The Los Angeles-area fighter rebounded from a one-sided loss against Errol Spence Jr. in March 2019 to comfortably outpoint Jessie Vargas in February of last year. That was his most-recent fight.
Pacquiao, a senator in the Philippines, has spent much of the past year focused on the coronavirus pandemic.
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