Mikey faces his toughest test: The Problem
It’s surprising how someone like Mikey Garcia hasn’t yet transformed into a boxing superstar.
With an immaculate record of 36-0 with 30 knockouts and victories over former world champions Juan Manuel Lopez and Orlando Salido you would think he would already have crossed over to the upper echelons of the sport.
But, no, at age 29 Garcia is still fighting for his time to shine in the spotlight, but that could all change this weekend when he squares off against Adrien Broner.
CAREER. More than anything else, promotional issues have held Mikey back, which is a downright shame if you consider how talent and youthful prime has been wasted.
He was never really able to parlay those Salido and Lopez victories into something meaningful as he fought only once in 2014 and didn’t fight at all in 2015 owing to a contract dispute with Top Rank.
Thankfully all is well now and he needs to take care of business with Broner this weekend.
THE PROBLEM. That’s how
Broner refers to himself which I find to be irrelevant now since whatever problems Broner gave to his opponents before has already been solved twice by Shawn Porter and Marcos Maidana.
Once touted as the heir apparent to Floyd Mayweather Jr, Broner is now struggling to make a name for himself and his inconsistent performances have not helped his cause.
He looked great in stoppage victories over Khabib Allakhverdiev and Ashley Theopane but in his last fight he gassed out in the second half of the fight against Adrian Granados and was lucky to have escaped with a split decision victory.
Against Garcia, which Broner will show up? Therein lies the problem.
MY TAKE. This bout has the potential to be a fight-of-the-year candidate if Broner shows up in good condition and lives up to his promise of taking the fight to Garcia.
Broner will be the naturally bigger man having fought already at the welterweight division while Garcia has come up from the light- er weight divisions.
Speed will also be Broner’s advantage and so some pundits are surprised that Garcia is enjoying 4 to 1 odds in the betting lines.
The key for Broner is to start fast and let those hands go. He needs to win the rounds and pile on those points so he has the buffer to withstand the second half push expected from Garcia
Garcia needs to invest early in the body so he can slow down the fast punching Broner. He also needs to let Broner feel his power and back Broner up.
I see a closely fought match with each fighter having his moments, but I like Garcia to eke out a workmanlike split-decision victory.
VERBATIM. “Unless it’s by a lucky punch, I don’t see how I can lose. I’m a better fighter, I got better timing, ring IQ, I can also punch, I can box, I can bang.”Mikey Garcia (www.badlefthook. com)
LAST ROUNDS. Are on two dear friends, Liezel Gedorio and Atty. Kenneth Yap, who recently celebrated their birthdays. Cheers!