By Jake Donovan
On the eve of the two-year mark since the two sides entered a lengthy legal battle, former two-division titlist Miguel Angel ‘Mikey’ Garcia and Las Vegas-based promotional outfit Top Rank have finally parted ways.
Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum subtly made the announcement on Thursday during a random appearance on a special midday edition of The Morning Punch-In Show With RB & Jae boxing podcast show, which normally airs every Friday morning.
“We’ve given Mikey his release (on Thursday) and he’s free to do what he wants,” Arum told podcast host Michelle “Raging Babe” Rosado during the onsite segment in Las Vegas.
The announcement came two days prior to this weekend’s rubber match between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley, Jr., which will presented by Top Rank live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Garcia (34-0, 28KOs) has been out of the ring since Jan. ’14, when he claimed a 12-round win over Juan Carlos Burgos at Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York City. The former two-division titlist was subsequently offered a Spring ’14 clash with then-unbeaten former featherweight titlist Yuriorkis Gamboa.
Instead, the unbeaten boxer from Oxnard, Calif. filed a lawsuit – through his legal team – on April 8, 2014 at Riverside (Calif.) Superior Court, alleging violations of the Muhammad Ali Act in efforts to terminate his promotional contract with Top Rank.
Both sides were prepared for the long haul, although there was a period where it appeared that progress was made. Three causes were dismissed from the original lawsuit in Oct. ’14, an agreement reached by Garcia and Top Rank after the latter filed a motion for full dismissal.
Offline talks took place between the two later that December, with the hope of a ring return last spring and presumably at super lightweight (140 pounds). The timing would have been perfect, as Terence Crawford was preparing to move up from his run as World lightweight champion.
Fast forward to present day, Crawford is now three fights into his run as a super lightweight titlist and has emerged as a favorite of American cable giant HBO,
The unbeaten two-division title winner from Omaha, Neb. is presently on course for a unification bout with Viktor Postol, targeted for July 23 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
As for Garcia, his next bout will presumably take place on another promoter’s watch – and financial cost.
“Other promoters made runs at him… well, manager/promoters,” Arum noted during the segment, the latter clarification a not-so-subtle dig at his longtime business rival, adviser and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) creator Al Haymon.
There have been suggestions that parties associated with Haymon were among those who’ve previously whispered in Garcia’s ear, thus leading to the now long-running rift between boxer and promoter. Whatever the case, it is no longer of any concern to Arum, other than disappointment over the way the past few years have transpired.
“[T]hat screwed him up,” Arum believes. “And yeah he we didn’t offer him the Crawford fight because he wanted more money than Crawford and Crawford is the champion. That means something. So we’ve given Mikey his release now and he’s free to do what he wants.”
Garcia has repeatedly suggested through social media that his first fight back – which he hopes will take place in the coming months – will take place at super lightweight. His previous titles reigns have come at featherweight and super featherweight.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
