Garcia: Non-Title Fight Vs. Broner Still Biggest of Our Careers

By Keith Idec

Adrien Broner has won world titles in four weight classes and Mikey Garcia has captured championships in three divisions.

Garcia still considers their non-title fight July 29 in Brooklyn the biggest bout of each of their careers. Garcia will leave the ring as the WBC lightweight champion no matter happens next Saturday night at Barclays Center, but the Oxnard, California, native realizes there is still a lot at stake for both boxers.

“He’s the most accomplished fighter [I’ve fought], a four-division world champion and, like you said, the more recognized name,” Garcia said during a conference call Thursday. “So that makes it a bigger deal. Fans and the media are more excited about my fight with Adrien Broner than some of the other world title fights … That shows the high-profile fight this really is.

“This fight is a much bigger deal than some of the world title fights that me and Adrien have been a part of, and some of the title fights that are around the division. So it is a very big, important fight, and it definitely easily could be seen as the biggest fight of both of our careers, for Adrien and myself. But I’m not letting that distract me from my task at hand, which is to defeat Adrien Broner.”

Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs) knocked out Montenegro’s Dejan Zlaticanin in the third round to win the WBC 135-pound championship in his last fight, January 28 in Las Vegas. He previously defeated Mexico’s Orlando Salido by technical decision to win the WBO featherweight title in January 2013 and added the WBO super featherweight title by knocking out Puerto Rico’s Rocky Martinez in the eighth round 9½ months later.

Broner doesn’t think it matters, either, that there won’t be a title at stake in their 12-round, 140-pound bout (Showtime).

“He’s one of the stars in boxing in this age and time,” Broner said. “Of course it’s a hell of a fight for me and it’s definitely gonna be a defining moment for Adrien Broner.”

Cincinnati’s Broner (33-2, 24 KOs, 1 NC) didn’t go as far as to say this is without question the biggest fight of his career. His two losses – unanimous-decision defeats to Argentina’s Marcos Maidana in December 2013 and Las Vegas’ Shawn Porter in June 2015 – were big fights as well.

“You can say that, but at the end of the day I fought a lot of good fighters, man,” Broner said. “But I’m just worrying about getting my victory, man. I can face the facts, but I ain’t tryin’ to get into all that now. I’m in fighting mode and I’m just ready to fight.”

The Garcia fight is bigger, however, than the four fights in which Broner won world titles.

Broner beat Argentina’s Vicente Rodriguez by third-round knockout to win the then-vacant WBO super featherweight title in November 2011. Nearly a year later, he stopped Mexico’s Antonio DeMarco in the eighth round to win the WBC lightweight championship.

Two fights later, Broner moved up two weight classes to beat Brooklyn’s Paulie Malignaggi by split decision and won the WBA welterweight title in June 2013. He moved back down to 140 pounds and stopped Russia’s Khabib Allakhverdiev in the 12th round to capture the then-unclaimed WBA super welterweight championship in October 2015.

He can’t walk away with another title for beating Garcia, but Broner realizes the significance of their showdown.

“It’s a good fight for boxing, man,” said Broner, who’ll turn 28 the day before he faces Garcia. “We were both on pound-for-pound lists at one point in time. … He’s a three-time world champion in three different weight classes. I’m a four-time world champion in four different weight classes. It’s a big fight for boxing. It’s gonna be a hell of a fight July 29th.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.