Henry Garcia, the father of undefeated lightweight contender Ryan Garcia, explains that a deal is nearly complete for a surprising fight with Manny Pacquiao.
According to the elder Garcia, Pacquiao's WBA welterweight title will not be at stake and the contest may be fought as an exhibition.
There is a 20-year age gap - and Pacquiao, boxing's only eight division champion, has a tremendous edge in experience.
Earlier this month, Garcia picked up the biggest victory of his pro career - when he knocked out 2012 Olympic gold medal winner Luke Campbell in the ninth round to capture the WBC interim-title.
Pacquiao, 42-years-old, has been out of the ring since July of 2019, when he captured the WBA welterweight strap with a twelve round split decision over Keith Thurman.
Henry Garcia is hoping to find out this week if a deal will be reached between the two sides.
"Everybody has agreed, all there is left are the details. But both parties have already agreed; promoters have agreed, sanctioning bodies have agreed, so we're very close to sealing the deal. We're going to know this week if everything goes through, we're negotiating today, they are already in discussion," Henry Garcia told MyBettingSites.co.uk via Sky Sports.
"I believe Ryan is ready for Manny Pacquiao because when Ryan puts his mind to something he's not going to back down, he's got all of the confidence in the world. When you have that confidence and motivation and drive, you can focus on what's in front of you and you're most likely going to become victorious.
"Ryan likes to take control and we understood that when (Keith) Thurman put pressure on Manny, he had a hard time fighting backwards - when you reach a certain age you're no longer as strong as a 20-year-old, we stand a very good chance. He's 20 years younger than Pacquiao and we feel that's to our advantage and that's one of the reasons why I feel it's a changing of the guard fight - it's our time."
Garcia's father says the contest may potentially end up being a ten round exhibition - and he would like a catch-weight of 143-pounds.
"I'd like that fight at 143 and I'd love that fight to happen in April or May. This one is possibly going to be in Texas, we're not sure yet," Henry Garcia said.
"We don't know exact details yet [on whether or not the fight will be an exhibition], but we're looking at a good 10-rounder but it's going to be a real fight, that I do know."
And he doubts Pacquiao's world title will be up for grabs no matter what happens.
"I don't think so - that's the direction we're heading down because no one wants to lose status but they do both want to fight each other and that's the key. It's not bizarre, it's just two people who want to fight each other; Ryan's fighting a legend and Pacquiao's fighting a rising star, so it's not awkward at all. What I do know is both fighters want to fight each other and it's going to be for real - it's going to be a real fight," Henry Garcia said.
"Ryan always admired Pacquiao and always wanted to fight a legend before his time was up, he wanted to fight someone of Pacquiao's calibre, so there's a chance it could happen."