- Ryan Garcia has offered to fight Manny Pacquiao on Netflix if Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua on December 11 falls through
- Pacquiao turns 48 in December and has fought just once since his long layoff
- Neither Netflix nor Pacquiao has responded to the offer, and replacing a Cardiff stadium heavyweight headliner is far harder than it sounds
A Backup Plan Nobody Asked For
Right then. Ryan Garcia has put out a very Ryan Garcia message: put him and Manny Pacquiao on Netflix, and they will save the day if Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua collapses on December 11. Make no mistake, that is a pitch, not a plan. Neither Netflix nor Pacquiao has said anything to suggest they are interested.
The timing tells you everything. Fury has already put the odds of the fight happening at one per cent in public, and Garcia has spotted a gap in the conversation and jumped straight into it. Fair play to him, he knows how to stay relevant around a big date. But relevance is not the same as a fight.
The Problem With The Idea
Pacquiao turns 48 in December and has fought once since his long layoff. Garcia is the reigning WBC welterweight champion after stopping Conor Benn in two rounds. That is a reigning champion taking on a legend who would be walking into a world title fight at nearly 48. It is a huge name matchup, and it would sell, but it is also one that a lot of people would find uncomfortable to watch.
You Cannot Swap A Heavyweight Headliner
Then there is the practical side. Fury vs Joshua is booked for Cardiff's Principality Stadium. If it fell through, you would not just be replacing two names, you would be rebuilding a stadium event, the promotion and the whole global Netflix push around a different, much smaller fight. There was already talk of Pacquiao being linked with a slot on the Cardiff card, and that is the version that actually makes sense.
The Verdict
Let's not beat around the bush. I expect Fury vs Joshua to happen, because too much money and too much Netflix marketing has been committed to pull the plug. So the Garcia offer never gets tested, and that is probably for the best. If it ever did, Garcia would be a heavy favourite and Pacquiao would need to be a proper, honest fighter about how much is left. For now, it is a good headline and nothing more.