By Dan Ambrose: Former two-division world champion Mikey Garcia (34-0, 28 knockouts) will be finally back inside the ring either next month in July or in August against an opponent still to be determined. The 28-year-0old Mikey has been out of action for the last two and half years since January 2014. He had promotional issues with his former promoters at Top Rank.
Garcia still hasn’t signed with any promoters yet. Mayweather Promotions are interested in signing him. He also could sign with manager Al Haymon. Garcia last fought at super featherweight, but he’s now exacted to campaign two divisions above that weight class at light welterweight (140).
He’ll be training with his older brother Robert Garcia in Riverside, California. Garcia wants to win titles at 135 [lightweight], 140 and 147 before his career is over. It’s going to be difficult for Garcia to win belts at 140 and 147 though, because those guys can punch and they can take a good shot at well.
If Garcia is going to go after a title at welterweight, he needs to think doing it soon while Danny Garcia still holds the WBC belt because he looks very vulnerable right now. Garcia likely will only remain the WBC champion as long as he doesn’t fight anyone goo like Errol Spence and Shawn Porter.
There are major questions whether Mikey will be the same fighter that he was two and a half years ago because of the time out of the ring and his body getting bigger. Larger fighters like heavyweights are able to stay out of the ring for years on end without hurting them when they resume their careers, but it’s often a different story when it comes to the smaller fighters in the lighter weight classes like super featherweight.
“I’ll show everyone I’m better,” Garcia said to the latimescom. “I’m hungrier now, willing to put more out there and show how good a fighter I really am. To me, I’ve only accomplished a little taste of what I can do. The best part of my career is next.”
Garcia could find success if he goes after the WBA 140lb title held by Ricky Burns or IBF champion Eduard Troyanovsky. But if he chooses to fight the winner of the July 23 fight between WBC champion Viktor Postol and WBO champ Terence Crawford, he could wind up losing. Garcia’s eighth round technical decision win over Orlando Salido in 2013 was a fight marked by controversy due to Garcia bowing out of the fight after the eighth round because of a broken bone.
Salido was starting to come at the time, as Garcia’s power wasn’t as it as it had been in the first four rounds. Salido was starting to get to Garcia, and there’s no way of knowing how the fight woul have wound up if it had gone much longer. It looked to some like Garcia wasn’t comfortable with the heavy shots he was starting to get hit with by Salido.
“That would make me a five-division champion,” Garcia said. “Now with the bigger challenges, I want to stay around. I feel like I could fight for a title right now.”