EDITOR’S LETTER
But is everyone correct to write off Mikey Garcia?
Is everyone right to write off Garcia?
MIKEY GARCIA has been labelled foolhardy for taking on Errol Spence Jnr in Texas. Garcia is currently campaigning at lightweight, two weight classes below the fearsome IBF welterweight champion.
Recent examples of leapfrogging weight classes have not ended well for the smaller athletes.
The monsters waited, mouths ajar. Amir Khan and Kell Brook bravely scrambled for survival until the jaws clamped shut. At the time of accepting their challenges to middleweight titlists, Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin respectively, both were campaigning at welterweight. Alvarez knocked Khan cold in May 2016, four months before Golovkin pounded a hole in Brook’s skull.
So the concern for Garcia – who challenges Spence on March 16 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington – is understood. But arguments can be made that Garcia will win.
Garcia appears advanced of Spence from a technique point of view, while experience is also in his favour. Consider that Spence, while unquestionably talented, is yet to prove his worth against a true A-lister. What we presume about his prowess is based largely on potential rather than accomplishment.
The sheer size and reach of Spence will be a huge problem to counter, but Garcia has exhibited supreme intelligence throughout his career. Watch him drawing errors from his opponents and punishing them in a manner not dissimilar to Roberto Duran. And it’s perhaps the greatest performance of Duran’s career that is worth examination when considering Garcia’s chances against Spence.
Back in 1980, Duran – after vacating his world lightweight titles – turned in a masterclass to dethrone welterweight king Sugar Ray Leonard. He forced the quicker and slicker Leonard into the kind of fight he’d never had before, nullifying the American’s advantages in the process. For Garcia to succeed, he will need to entice mistakes from Spence, while gambling with his own attacks.
But closer investigation of Duran at that time also highlights the extent of Garcia’s mission.
While it’s often stated that the Panamanian went from lightweight to welterweight to upset Sugar Ray, there was a period of two years when Duran eased himself into the 147lb class. Garcia, who will be 31 by the time of the opening bell, does not have that luxury. Nor does he operate in an era that encourages its leaders to stay in one division (heavyweight withstanding) for too long. With that in mind, it’s also worth noting that, although Garcia’s most recent outing was at 135lbs, he spent the preceding year at superlightweight, defeating Adrien Broner and Sergey Lipinets in the process. To a degree, he knows his body can cope with the extra mass. The Californian is chasing greatness – a wildly overused term, admittedly – at a time when true greatness is rare. Credit him for that. Some have succeeded, and Garcia may too. Roy Jones Jnr bewitching John Ruiz at heavyweight, Michael Spinks ending the unbeaten run of Larry Holmes, and Manny Pacquiao finishing Oscar De La Hoya all immediately spring to mind. But what awaits Garcia is a fighter more skilled than Ruiz and one at the right end of his career, unlike Holmes and De La Hoya. Ultimately, this might be yet another example of why weight divisions exist and why fighters should not be encouraged to leap between them. Another example of the damage bigger boxers can do to smaller ones. There has always been a sense of something special about Garcia, both inside the ring and out. He’s going to need to be against Spence.
testing Reports was that ‘rejected’ VADA by the Spence camp are untrue, Dr Margaret Goodman of VADA confirmed to BN. VADA testing has not been sought by either team. Expect USADA, who haven’t revealed a failed test since 2012, to be the testing agency.