'Intelligent' Mikey Garcia Will Beat Manny Pacquiao, Mexican Boxing Legend Claims

A former Mexican boxing champ predicted that an intelligent Mikey Garcia will beat the legendary Manny Pacquiao.

Fernando Vargas is a Mexican-American retired boxer with a vicious knockout power. He was a two-time light middleweight champ who ended his career with a record of 26 wins (22 by way of KO) and five losses. Vargas last fought in 2007, but while boxing is on hiatus, the 42-year-old used his time to weigh in on some of the most interesting fights that could happen as soon as the sport resumes.

In a recent video call interview with Elie Seckbach of EsNews, Vargas was asked to comment about the possible Pacquiao vs. Garcia welterweight title fight. According to the former champ, he bets Garcia to win because of his ring intelligence. Vargas lauded Garcia for being an underrated champ who was often seen by many as a basic fighter. However, he claimed that once Garcia’s opponents finally meet him inside the ring, they see things in a different way.

“Because Mike Garcia doesn’t get enough credit with what he does in the ring because they think they see a basic fighter. But when they’re in there with him, they’ll see different. Mikey is very intelligent,” Garcia said when asked to predict the result of Pacquiao vs. Garcia.

Aside from Vargas, another former Mexican champ picks Garcia over the Filipino legend. Former WBA super featherweight champ Abner Mares thinks Garcia has the same mentality as Juan Manuel Marquez, a Mexican legend best known for being one of the few fighters who scored a clean KO win over Pacquiao.

“Because he’s a fighter that thinks a lot in the ring, like Juan Manuel Marquez. This is a man that is thinking about the punches he’s throwing. We saw that with Jesse Vargas (fight) he’s really really patient. Not many fighters have that,” Mares explained.

Meanwhile, unlikely challenger Yordenis Ugas recently called-out Pacquiao. Ugas is evidently a fighter who is not on the same breath as “Pac-Man” but insisted that as soon as boxing resumes, he wants a title shot against Pacquiao, current WBO welterweight champ Terence Crawford and even returning champ Errol Spence Jr.

Ugas reintroduced himself to the world by reminding them that he was once included in Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor fight.He also claims he already defeated Crawford in an amateur fight and he is also looking forward to once again prove that he’s a better boxer than “Bud” when boxing is finally back.