Manny Pacquiao Latest News & Next Fight: Freddie Roach Wants ‘Pacman’ to Face Danny Garcia
Freddie Roach is looking forward to a fifth fight between Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao, but the hall of fame trainer is also open to facing Danny Garcia in the Filipino boxing icon's next fight in November.
In an interview with BoxingScene, Roach revealed that there are no ongoing talks about a fifth fight between Pacquiao and Marquez, which is forcing them to look for other options.
Roach said that Top Rank Promotions asked him about possible opponents in their next fight, and he did not hesitate to recommend Garcia, the reigning WBC and WBA light welterweight champion.
"They asked me who I'd want to fight next, and I said well, I'd like to fight Danny Garcia," Roach said. "I think that'd be a great fight for Pacquiao. So they're throwing that at me. I don't know exactly what's going to happen, but I think his next fight will be in China. But opponent-wise, we haven't locked anyone down yet."
However, a Pacquiao versus Garcia fight is still a long shot at this point, considering the fact that the junior welterweight champion is currently under Golden Boy Promotions -- the main rival of Top Rank, who recently signed a new two-year agreement with Pacquiao.
Roach is not losing hope, though, since there are reports suggesting that Oscar De La Hoya is open to ending GBP's long-standing cold war with Arum's Top Rank Promotions.
The 54-year-old trainer said that Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank Promotions should end their feud in order to arrange fights that would make boxing the No. 1 sport in the world again.
"It would bring back boxing to the best sport in the world," Roach said. "It's what we need, and all this feud in between is all bullsh*t. Just negotiate the deal, I don't care. I'll make a deal with the devil if I have to. A good deal is a good deal. That's my outlook. Personalities shouldn't get involved in negotiations."
Pacquiao, who recently reclaimed the WBO welterweight title with a unanimous decision win over Timothy Bradley in their rematch last month, was scheduled to return to the ring on Nov. 8, but his next fight date was moved to Nov. 22.
"We've shifted the date. The Manny Pacquiao fight here will be on 22 of November. Celine Dion is going to perform here in the eighth. Manny can't make less for any fight than $20 million. So it goes up from there somewhere between $20 million and $30 million," Arum told reporters on Thursday.