By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – If Mikey Garcia beats Adrien Broner and Terence Crawford defeats Julius Indongo, Crawford-Garcia would become boxing’s biggest fight at 140 pounds.
Garcia is more than interested in challenging Crawford, but the unbeaten three-division champion admits his fractured relationship with former promoter Top Rank Inc. could prevent their fight from happening.
“I heard he’s moving up to 47,” Garcia said. “If we’re at 140 and he’s still around, then that’s the fight that I would pursue because he’s considered the best at 140. He holds the titles. [If he] unifies with Indongo, that would make him an undisputed champion of the division.
“That would be the fight that I would want. We’ve also gotta be realistic. He’s still working with my former promoter, and I don’t know if they’re willing to work with me.”
The 29-year-old Garcia spent 2½ years out of the ring while trying to end his professional partnership with Bob Arum’s promotional company.
The Oxnard, California, native sued Top Rank in 2014 and was granted a release from his deal once they reached an undisclosed settlement in April 2016. Garcia currently works without a promoter.
Despite Garcia’s history with Top Rank, if Crawford and Garcia win their upcoming fights, Crawford could push for that fight.
An ever-elusive shot at Manny Pacquiao appears to be a long shot at best because Pacquiao suffered a controversial loss to Australia’s Jeff Horn on July 2 in Brisbane. Crawford could decide to stay at 140 pounds if he determines moving up to welterweight isn’t worth the risk because the most formidable fighters in that division are naturally bigger guys.
Garcia would welcome the opportunity to beat Crawford, an Omaha, Nebraska, native typically listed as one of the top 10 boxers, pound-for-pound, in the sport.
“It hasn’t been brought up,” Garcia said of the Crawford fight. “Fans and media bring it up, but I never heard anything from either network [HBO or Showtime] or from his promoter, Top Rank. I haven’t heard anything from Top Rank in three years or something, so …”
So there’s that probable obstacle, as well as making a Crawford-Garcia fight work financially for both boxers.
Top Rank has a new television deal with ESPN, which will televise Crawford (31-0, 22 KOs) against Indongo (22-0, 11 KOs) on August 19 from Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. Arum could take Crawford-Garcia to the pay-per-view platform, but Crawford’s only pay-per-view main event – an impressive points victory over previously unbeaten Ukrainian Viktor Postol a year ago in Las Vegas – didn’t draw well on pay-per-view.
Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs) never has headlined a pay-per-view show, but after a long layoff that wasted two-plus years of his physical prime, the WBC lightweight champion wants to pursue the biggest, most profitable fights. That’s why he didn’t hesitate to move up five pounds to battle Broner (33-2, 24 KOs, 1 NC) on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (Showtime; 9 p.m. ET/PT).
This will be the third straight Garcia fight Showtime will broadcast, but he isn’t contractually tied to that premium-cable channel.
“They understand there could be a potential fight [against Crawford],” Garcia said, referencing his former partners at Top Rank. “But there’s nothing ever really said and done to really push those agendas. I don’t want them to just use my name for publicity and just to stay relevant. If they’re serious about it, if they [have] lost my number, I know they’ve got my brother’s number. … If it makes sense [for Crawford] to get a fight with me, then I’m happy to sit down and have that discussion.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
