Mikey Garcia Hits Harder Than Manny Pacquiao, Ex-Sparring Partner Says

Having been given the rare chance to spar with Manny Pacquiao and Mikey Garcia, undefeated unified WBC and WBO light welterweight champion Jose Ramirez said Garcia has “heavier hands” than Pacquiao.

As Ramirez keeps himself busy in the gym for a possible fight with former champion Viktor Postol, he still found time to talk about some interesting things about boxing.

The 27-year-old fought for the U.S. Olympic team and trained under Hall of Fame coach Freddie Roach. The ties with Roach linked Ramirez to the eight-division world champion, and during his time with the legendary pair, he sparred with Pacquiao for several of his fights.

Ramirez has shared many rounds with the Filipino legend, and interestingly enough, he also used to spar with one of Pacquiao’s touted opponents, Garcia.

In a recent talk with Elie Seckbach of EsNews, the undefeated champ was asked to compare the punching power of the two welterweight stars. According to Ramirez, both fighters were heavy-hitters, but Garcia probably had “a little heavier hand.”

“They hit the same, but I think Mikey [Garcia] has probably a little heavier hand,” Ramirez said.

“Pacquiao just puts it together really well, he puts three or four punches. It doesn’t take a lot of power to land a clean shot and for someone to feel it. As long as the shots are pointed properly it could hurt anybody,” he explained.

Ramirez is one of the boxing personalities who believe a fight between Garcia and Pacquiao would be great for both fighters. In the same interview, Ramirez pointed out that both Pacquiao and Garcia aren’t the biggest welterweights in the division and came up from lower weight classes.

“Mikey is not the biggest 147 pounder out there. Same thing with Mikey, Pacquiao is not the biggest 147 pounder, so I think it would be a fight that would make sense for both of them,” Ramirez pointed out.

Despite having quite a good relationship with Roach, Ramirez still opted to part ways the renowned trainer. At the time, it was said that Ramirez felt like Roach could no longer focus on other fighters as his hands were already full with an overwhelming number of pupils. Ramirez then decided to go to California to team up with Roach’s rival, Robert Garcia, whom he still trains with even to this day.

Pacquiao has yet to determine his opponent for his much-awaited return. Garcia, on the other hand, has been very vocal about his desire to take Pacquiao out.