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By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Mikey Garcia didn’t want his layoff to last 2½ years, but he doesn’t regret traveling the path that he took.
Garcia wanted out of his promotional contract with Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. and ultimately, that’s what he got. His last fight for Top Rank was a 12-round, unanimous-decision defeat of Juan Carlos Burgos in January 2014 in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
By the time his legal battle with Top Rank ended and he got back in shape, Garcia didn’t fight again until he stopped Elio Rojas (24-3, 14 KOs) in the fifth round last July 30 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
“I never imagined it would take that long,” Garcia said following a recent press conference to promote his July 29 fight against Adrien Broner at Barclays Center. “But I’m actually fine with it. I’m OK with it because I also learned from it. I grew from it and I think this next stage of my career is the best stage of my career, and I don’t have to share [money] with nobody.”
Since he came back, Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs) has fought on Premier Boxing Champions cards backed by influential manager Al Haymon, but the unbeaten WBC lightweight champion hasn’t signed with Haymon or a promoter. He knocked out previously unbeaten Dejan Zlaticanin (22-1, 15 KOs) in the third round of his last fight to win the WBC 135-pound championship January 28 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
That impressive victory gave Garcia world championships in three weight classes, but the 29-year-old fighter from Oxnard, California, still feels he has plenty of catching up to do.
“I always felt that had I not stopped fighting for the period of time that I did, I would’ve been a huge star in boxing,” Garcia said. “Now that I’m back, these are the kind of fights that I want. These are the fights that will put me back where I should be.”
Garcia referred to the 12-round Broner bout, for which he’ll move up from 135 to 140 pounds. The former featherweight and super featherweight champion admits that making up for lost time played at least some part in deciding to box Broner next in a fight Showtime will televise.
“There’s always a risk, but that’s why I take these fights,” Garcia said. “You know, no risk, no reward. I could’ve taken an easy title defense at 135, but that doesn’t do anything for my career, other than just a simple paycheck and a title defense. I would rather have a good challenge in front of me. That motivates me more and it proves to everybody the kind of fighter that I am.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.