Mikey Garcia is plotting his path to becoming a World champion again – starting with his return to action against Sandor Martin on Saturday night at Chukchansi Park in Fresno, California, live worldwide on DAZN.
(Photo credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom or Melina Pizano/Matchroom)
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Garcia (40-1 30 KOs) is back in action for the first time in almost 600 days since he saw off Jessie Vargas in Frisco, Texas, in February 2020, and the fan-favorite is itching to get back into the title mix, starting with his clash with European Super-Lightweight champion Martin (38-2 13 KOs).
Garcia still has designs on winning a belt at Welterweight to become a five-weight king. Should he secure victory over Martin, he’ll be hunting former Super-Lightweight World ruler Regis Prograis for a stellar showdown at 147lbs – but the 33-year-old wants to keep his options open and believes a fight with undisputed 140lbs king Josh Taylor would be a big one.
“I wanted to stay at 147 to look at fighting for a World Welterweight title,” said Garcia. “We had discussed the Prograis fight at Welterweight as he was considering moving up to 147, and on Saturday, we were looking to have the war at 147, but Sandor has been at 140, so we agreed a 145 catchweight, which I am not thrilled about but it’s OK.
“I’ve never stepped on the scales at 147, I’ve been 144 or 145, so it’s the same to me. I want to have both options available. If there’s a chance to fight for a belt at Welterweight, I am ready, but 140 is ideal for me at my size and body structure; it’s a more comfortable weight.
“I understand the boxing business, so I was disappointed the Regis didn’t happen, but we move on. I hope we can make that fight happen soon; if things go well on Saturday and win without any injuries or cuts, I’d want to pursue that fight straight away. That is a fight I want, the fans and media wish to it, but the scheduling and the promotional time needed to build a fight like that just wasn’t there.
“If there’s a good fight at 147 with a big name or a belt, I’d love that. I think I am better built and more developed for Welterweight now than I was the first time around.
“I don’t see myself at Lightweight ever again, but I can see 140. There are some excellent names at the weight, Josh Taylor is a grand champion, and if some of the guys at 135 looks to move up, there are such big fights at 140.
“I just have to keep winning. Victory on Saturday and then getting another win against someone like Regis, I think that should create enough attention to land a fight with Taylor. He’s the undisputed champion, and that’s the biggest fight that I could engage in at the weight, of course.”
Garcia’s clash with European Super-Lightweight champion Sandor Martin and a stacked undercard supporting the main event is led by WBO World Light-Flyweight king Elwin Soto (19-1 13 KOs), putting his crown on the line against Jonathan Gonzalez (24-3-1 14 KOs).
San Antonio talent Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (13-0 9 KOs) clashes with Jose Alejandro Burgos (18-4-1 15 KOs), and there’s plenty more young talent on the card as unbeaten Australian Super-Featherweight Brock Jarvis (19-0 17 KOs) fights under the Matchroom banner for the first time against Alejandro Frias Rodriguez (13-4-2 6 KOs), Marc Castro (3-0 3 KOs) clashes in his hometown for the first time as a pro, and, Diego Pacheco (12-0 9 KOs), Nikita Ababiy (10-0 6 KOs) and Khalil Coe (1-0 1 KO) all look to add wins to their impressive starts in the pro game.