Boxing News
'Would you bet your mortgage against Floyd Mayweather beating Ryan Garcia'
![Floyd Mayweather and Ryan Garcia [right] are supposedly in talks for a showdown](/img/v1/1920?src=https%3A%2F%2Fphoto2.boxingscene.com%2Fuploads%2Ffloyd-mayweather-and-ryan-garcia-right-are-supposedly-in-crop-16x9-lhhyyb.jpg)
Zuffa Boxing/Top RankCARSON, California – Eddie Hearn wants to see Floyd Mayweather Jnr return to championship boxing against Ryan Garcia, and he's not convinced the 49-year-old would be beaten.
Garcia, the WBC welterweight champion, said this week that a showdown with Mayweather could take place in February in Las Vegas, with the unbeaten former five-division champion continuing to discuss a return to the ring.
“We have an announcement,” said the 28-year-old during a live social media address.
“We are going to fight Floyd Mayweather on February 6.
“Floyd, we're going to kick your ass. This is not an exhibition. This is a real fight. I'm going to take his zero.
“It's going to be in Vegas. I'm coming to hurt him really badly.
“I want to put him in the hospital for two days. I'm not playing.”
Mayweather, meanwhile, is confronting legal disputes over two exhibition fights amid uncertainty surrounding a legitimate rematch with Manny Pacquiao.
The 50-0 superstar has not competed at 147lbs since beating Andre Berto in 2015, two years before his most recent sanctioned bout, which was a rout of the 0-1 Conor McGregor.
Since then, he's taken part in multiple exhibitions of limited quality.
For Hearn, the appeal of Mayweather-Garcia is obvious.
"Look at the storylines: One of the greatest fighters of all time, coming back trying to reclaim the world title against a young buck who's fast and can punch," Hearn said Thursday following the Diego Pacheco-Darius Fulghum news conference at Dignity Health Sports Park.
"If you want to genuinely come back, George Foreman style, and try to become world champion again … he's already risking his legacy by being in these shit exhibition fights.
"Everyone says he's too old, but would you bet your mortgage that Floyd Mayweather doesn't beat Ryan Garcia? I'd love to see it."
- Manny Pacquiao
- Andre Berto
- Eddie Hearn
- George Foreman
- Ryan Garcia
- Conor McGregor
- Diego Pacheco
- Darius Fulghum
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
