By Keith Idec
Mikey Garcia was brutally honest.
The unbeaten WBC lightweight champion didn’t degrade Adrien Broner, yet made it known that he feels he is a vastly superior fighter. In an interview with Showtime’s Brian Custer, Garcia predicted that unless Broner can hit him with “a lucky punch,” there’s no way he’ll lose their 12-round, 140-pound fight July 29 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The 29-year-old Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs) is about a 3-1 favorite, even though the former featherweight and super featherweight champion is moving up from 135 pounds to box Broner in a fight Showtime will televise. Cincinnati’s Broner (33-2, 24 KOs, 1 NC), a former champion in four weight classes, will move down from welterweight (147 pounds) for his fight against Garcia.
“Look, I do a lot of visualization,” Garcia told Custer. “I visualize a fight round by round, minute by minute. I don’t see how I’m gonna lose. Unless it’s by a lucky punch, I don’t see how I can lose. I’m a better fighter, I’ve got better timing, ring IQ. I can also punch, I can box, I can bang.
“People still haven’t seen the best of me. They still haven’t seen me trade punches. They haven’t seen me put pressure on a fighter. They haven’t seen me, you know, go on an all-out attack like that. If I have to do that, I’m ready to do that. July 29th, you might see that side of Mikey Garcia. But in the end, at the end of the night, I win every single time. I do all my visualization and I always win. So I guarantee you I’m gonna win.”
Putting pressure on Broner will be one of the most important parts of Garcia’s game plan later this month.
“I’ve seen Adrien have problems when fighters attack him,” Garcia said. “I’ve seen Adrien have problems when anybody just throws punches at him. Throw that [in with] that timing and ring generalship that I have – and IQ – I think that really gives me the upper hand.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.