Mikey Garcia Approached By Golden Boy, King, Mayweather

By Francisco Salazar

With the break-up between Top Rank and Miguel 'Mikey' Garcia in the rear-view mirror, Garcia is in the early stages of planning his return to the ring.
 
That could come sooner than expected as Garcia, who last fought two and a half years ago, is expected to return to the ring in the next month or two, according to Robert Garcia, Mikey’s trainer and older brother.
 
Garcia has been inactive since January of 2014, as the Oxnard, Calif.-born fighter and Top Rank have been mired in a lengthy court battle that lasted about two years. Garcia alleged Top Rank violated the Muhammad Ali Act, which is a federal statute put in place to prevent promoters from taking advantage of fighters.

 
Some boxing insiders believed Garcia was unhappy with the purses he was receiving from Top Rank, which topped out at about $500,000 for the Burgos fight.
 
Top Rank and Garcia came to an agreement in April, where the promotional company gave Garcia his release.
 
Numerous promoters have reached out to meet with Garcia in an effort to sign the 28-year-old. The most recognized promoter who has made the push to sign Garcia has been Floyd Mayweather.
 
The retired (for now) fighter has met with the Garcia family, even meeting with them in Riverside, Calif., where one of three of Robert Garcia’s gyms is located.
 
Robert Garcia advised BoxingScene.com recently they are still looking to sign with a company.
 
"There's a lot of speculation that we signed with Mayweather Promotions because we were invited to his show in Vegas (on May 15). We're still free agents.”
 
“Golden Boy reached out to us. We have had offers from Don King. He wanted to meet with us and talk business. In the end, we're going to sit down, myself, Mikey, and my Dad, to discuss what is the best deal for Mikey. We’re not going to rush to a decision.”
 
Mikey Garcia could promote himself for now. Robert Garcia confirmed his younger brother applied and received a promoter’s license through the California Athletic Commission.
 
“Mikey has applied and received a promoter’s license,” said Robert Garcia. “The plan is to have Mikey fight this summer, somewhere in Southern California.”
 
Mikey Garcia would fight on the card along with some of the unbeaten fighters Robert Garcia also manages, including Genaro Gamez, Jonathan Navarro, and Hector Tanajara.
 
Those three fighters are signed to promotional contracts with Golden Boy Promotions.
 
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing