Former world champion and esteemed trainer Robert Garcia has revealed his take on the professional rematch between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
The two pound-for-pound icons will square off at the Sphere, Las Vegas, on September 19, over a decade removed from their first welterweight encounter.
Back then, Mayweather produced a controlled performance to emerge with a unanimous decision victory, yet both men ultimately seemed a far cry from the prime versions of themselves.
Pacquiao, though, has nonetheless continued to box professionally on a sporadic basis, with his last outing ending in a draw against Mario Barrios, the then-WBC world welterweight champion, last July.
This saw the Filipino end a near four-year layoff, which followed his points defeat to Yordenis Ugas, while Mayweather has not fought in a ‘professional’ bout since his 10th-round stoppage of Conor McGregor in 2017.
Since then, the American has been involved in several exhibitions and, in preparation for his rematch with Pacquiao, is set to face Mike Tyson in April and kickboxer Mike Zambidis in June, both in non-competitive affairs.
Even when considering his hiatus from a professional ring, though, top-level coach Garcia still sees Mayweather getting the job done in September.
Speaking with ES NEWS, Garcia highlights the 49-year-old’s ring IQ, skillset and longevity as determining factors.
“I think Floyd [wins the rematch]. Floyd’s too smart, man. Too good.
“Floyd’s very healthy and he’s got skills. He told us six [to] eight years ago that his body wasn’t that strong, but he’s still talented.
“The little that he’s got left, I think it’s enough to beat Pacquiao.”
It is difficult to gauge exactly how much Mayweather has ‘got left,’ while many believe that Pacquiao had done enough to emerge triumphant over Barrios.
The convincing nature of their first fight, however, makes Garcia’s prediction perfectly reasonable.
