'A dream turned reality': Ryan Garcia teases bout with Manny Pacquiao as Filipino star moves on from McGregor match

One of the biggest stars of world boxing looks set to take on one of the sport's all-time greats with Ryan Garcia hinting that he's all set to take on Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao.

Garcia shared an unofficial fight poster pitting the pair head to head, telling his 8.3 million Instagram followers the matchup was "A dream turned reality."

"It's an honor to share the ring with @mannypacquiao. I will always respect what you did in and out the ring. Here's to the best man winning."

Last week, Garcia hinted at a blockbuster announcement, saying, "I have a potential huge, bigger fight than (rival world champion Gervonta Davis).

"I might put him off to the side. I'm still gonna fight him. I wouldn't not fight him unless it was an even bigger opportunity, but I cannot say anything right now, so I'm just gonna keep it at that."

The news of the bout, which is not yet officially announced, will come as a hammer blow to the hopes of a potential bout between Pacquiao and Conor McGregor, which the Irishman revealed on Saturday night was "as good as done" prior to his defeat to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257.

But now it seems that option may be off the table for the time being, with Pacquiao moving on to face Garcia, who has made no secret of his admiration for the former eight-division world champion.

"Manny’s a legend," Garcia said in a recent interview.

"Manny’s a person I’ve always looked up to. You can’t say anything bad about Manny. I wouldn’t even be mad in the ring with him.

"Even if he hit me, I don’t know how I would react. I would be just, like, ‘Yo, man, you hit me! I can’t believe this, yes! Hit me more!’ He’s been an inspiration to me."