Mikey Garcia with no rematch clause for Sandor Martin says Eddie Hearn

By Boxing News - 10/17/2021 - Comments

By Jeff Aronow: Eddie Hearn was in a state of shock moments after watching his fight Mikey Garcia go down in defeat in losing a 10 round majority decision to Sandor Martin last Saturday night at the Chukchansi Park, Fresno, California. The scores were 95-95, 97-93, and 97-93.

Mikey was outboxed by Sandor, who proved to be as slippery as an eel and almost impossible to be hit cleanly.

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Hearn says there’s no rematch clause for the Mikey vs. Sandor fight because there wasn’t a world title on the line. This was a regular non-title fight with a catchweight of 147 lbs.

Mikey (40-2,  30 KOs) says he wants an immediate rematch with the 28-year-old Spaniard Martin (39-2, 13 KOs), but whether they do fight again will be determined through the negotiations.

It’s unknown right now whether DAZN will want to put on a second fight between Mikey and Sandor, and you can bet they’ll base their decision on the number of new subscribers from last Saturday’s fight.

DAZN would likely much prefer to put on a fight between Mikey and Regis Prograis rather than another Mikey-Sandor fight. It might not matter that Mikey lost. A fight between him and Prograis will likely do better numbers than a rematch with Sandor.

Hearn shocked about Mikey’s loss

“I knew Sandor Martin could fight. He’s s European and top 15 [contender at 140],” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social. “They’d been so confident that they’d beat him.

Image: Mikey Garcia with no rematch clause for Sandor Martin says Eddie Hearn

“He can fight, but Mikey looked a bit rusty, lackluster, and with no urgency. I’m really pleased they gave Sandor the decision because he did win the fight and they could have not let him have his time,” said Hearn.

Mikey was trying to get to Sandor, but he was getting hit coming forward and that made him less willing to attack.

The head movement from Mikey wasn’t there tonight, and he didn’t possess the hand speed to be fighting Martin on even terms.

Mikey couldn’t handle the speed of Sandor, and he didn’t look comfortable with his southpaw stance. Sandor was nailing Mikey with straight lefts the entire fight.

“That for Spanish boxing is the biggest win in the history of the sport. Show me a bigger win for a Spanish boxer, but fair play to him. He came in and completely tore up the script. It was a massive upset.

“It was massive,” said Hearn when asked how Mikey’s long 20-month layoff impacted his performance. “It’s the same for everybody and that’s why Fury-Wilder was so impressive because they were so inactive as well.

“Mikey, it’s not just the inactivity for the last 19 months, it’s the inactivity for the last four or five years. It just takes its toll and the urgency, the sharpness, and the movement of Sandor.

“We talk about people boxing well and getting it wrong. But let’s give Sandor the credit. He boxed really well. Smart, he stood and traded in spots as well, particularly in the last round. He’s the deserved winner,” said Hearn.

Mikey has been dealing with inactivity issues since 2016, and it looks like it finally caught up to him tonight with his defeat.

No rematch clause for Mikey vs. Sandor

“No, there isn’t,” said Hearn when asked if there’s a rematch clause for the Mikey vs. Sandor fight. “No, rematch clause, you’ll be happy to know. That rematch clause thing is quite standard when you give somebody a voluntary opportunity or you’re a huge, huge name.

Image: Mikey Garcia with no rematch clause for Sandor Martin says Eddie Hearn

“So this was just a non-title fight, no rematch clause, and what a life changer for Sandor Martin. It was capped by a massive upset,”  said  Hearn.

It probably doesn’t matter that there’s no rematch clause for the Mikey vs. Sandor fight. Sandor isn’t going to get the kind of money fighting anyone else that he can get in a rematch with Mikey.

The fact that Eddie Hearn didn’t include a rematch clause tells you what he thought of Sandor’s chances of winning. If Hearn was worried that Mikey could lose to Sandor, you can bet there would have been a rematch clause.

“Marc Castro, anyone you talk to, he’s like a seven-time national champion, two-time amateur world champion, youth champion. He was sitting down on his punches [against Angel Luna]. Obviously, a great reception tonight. He looked really good.

“Big upset in the world championship fight. Elwin Soto looking to Jonathan Gonzalez, who actually boxed really well. A bit frustrating at times, but he boxed technically really, really well. Jesse Rodriguez is a great fighter.

“My God, Brock Jarvis against Alejandro Frias. I’ve never seen drama like that. He was probably lucky the referee didn’t jump in on him in the second round.

“Then he battered Frias for three rounds and come back in the fight. Then the referee jumped in a bit early, but he was taking a beating. Diego Pacheco looked great. A good win for Nakita Ababiy. So, yeah, good night,” said Hearn.

Mikey wants rematch

“He was the one moving around, running around a lot,” said Mikey about Sandor. “He was able to counter a few times, but I was the one actively looking for the fight.

Image: Mikey Garcia with no rematch clause for Sandor Martin says Eddie Hearn

“I thought I was ahead on the cards. It is what it is. That’s why there’s three judges and they decided he was the one winning the fight.

“No, I can definitely consider a rematch,” said Mikey. “I think two more rounds will probably be more beneficial. I thought I was coming on a little bit better in the later rounds,” said Garcia on his loss to Sandor.

Whether there’s a rematch or not will come down to the financials. If Matchroom  Boxing and DAZN can up with the money to make it worthwhile for Sandor to fight Mikey again,  he likely will.

It’s going to be difficult for Mikey to move on and face Prograis after a loss like this.

However,  if the goal for Mikey, DAZN, and Matchroom is just to make money, the logical choice would be for him to face Regis Prograis next rather than a risky second fight with Sandor.

You got to believe after watching the fight tonight that Sandor has Mikey’s number, and will beat him again. Sandor’s win over Mikey was even more one-sided than Oleksandr Usyk’s victory over Anthony Joshua.

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