Freddie Roach wants Manny Pacquiao to face Floyd Mayweather next year, but the Hall of Fame trainer said that they will gladly settle for a fight with Danny Garcia if the reigning pound-for-pound king declines to face the Filipino boxing icon again.
Roach said in an interview with BoxingScene that Pacquiao, who recently scored a masterful unanimous decision win against Chris Algieri, will likely move down to 140 pounds if the fight against Mayweather will not be sealed.
And in the event Pacquiao decides to move down to the light welterweight division, Roach is firm in his decision that his fighter should face Garcia, the reigning World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association light welterweight champion.
"I think that the first opponent at junior welterweight for Manny should be Danny Garcia," Roach said. "I have no information about this, but this is my opinion."
Roach also said in a recent interview that fight fans will enjoy a showdown between Pacquiao and Garcia, pointing out that the 26-year-old loves to engage unlike Algieri, who decided to run a lot during their title fight on Saturday.
"I think that it would be a great fight between Manny Pacquiao and Danny Garcia," Roach told RingTV. "It is a fight that I would love to see. I think that the fans would love to see it. That's what we want to give the people is good fights. I think that Danny Garcia would be a great opponent."
Garcia, who holds a perfect 29-0 record with 17 knockouts, is coming off an impressive second-round knockout win against Rod Salka in August. The Philadelphia native also scored convincing victories against Lucas Matthysse, Zab Judah, Amir Khan, Kendal Holt, Nate Campbell and Erik Morales twice.
Roach said that Pacquiao should have no room for complacency against Garcia, saying that the junior welterweight champion is a very dangerous foe. He quickly added, though, that if Pacquiao fights him in a smart way, the former pound-for-pound king will hand Garcia the first defeat of his career.
"I think he's an exciting fighter, he's a puncher, he will go for the knockout," Roach said of Garcia. "He will swing as hard as he can. He's a little bit wild. If you box him the smart way I think he's beatable, but if you stand and trade with him he's very dangerous. It's a good fight, it's a good fight for the fans I feel."
