Mikey Garcia’s Trainer: Mikey Wants to Unify the Titles

by David P. Greisman

Robert Garcia, trainer and brother of 130-pound titleholder Mikey Garcia, spoke with BoxingScene.com on March 28.

BoxingScene.com: What’s next for Mikey?

Robert Garcia: “We don’t have anything scheduled. We had a meeting with Top Rank. They’re working on a date. We don’t have a date yet. A date and opponent — we don’t have anything. The fight with Gamboa was pretty much not a done deal, but it was close to being done. It looks like that date, Marquez-Alvarado took that date, and now we’re waiting to see what happens.”

BoxingScene.com: I feel like Mikey just moved up to 130. Would you want him to move up to 135 already?

Garcia: “Well, Mikey can fight one or two more times at 130, but who can he fight at 130? It’s hard. I don’t think Top Rank has many fighters that could give the fight that we want. Mikey, I think, little by little has become a great fighter, getting close to being a superstar. So there’s no opponent there that’ll give him those fights, that next level fight.”

BoxingScene.com: It seems similar to when Adrien Broner was at 130. There are other talented fighters, but not necessarily in this country. I’d seen one article mentioning maybe a fight with Takashi Uchiyama in Macau. Do you have any interest?

[Note: Arum told BoxingScene’s Keith Idec that he’d like to match Uchiyama and Garcia, but “I have as much chance of doing it on HBO as the man in the moon, so I’ll probably end up doing it in Macau.”]

Garcia: “Are you serious? That’s the first time I’ve heard that.”

BoxingScene.com: Do you have any familiarity with Uchiyama or Takashi Miura in Japan?

Garcia: “I have no idea who they are.”

BoxingScene.com: Without knowing who they are, would you have any interest in Mikey perhaps facing one of the titleholders from Japan?

Garcia: “Oh, to unify a title, why not? Mikey’s always had a dream of becoming undisputed champion at a weight division. With all this Top Rank and Golden Boy, the Cold War, it’s hard, because some champions are with Golden Boy Promotions, and Mikey’s with Top Rank. So it would be hard to get all the titles at the same weight division, but Mikey wants to unify the titles. He’d love to if the champions are from Japan and Bob Arum can make those fights happen, then we would love to.”

BoxingScene.com: But there’s been no conversation about specific potential next opponents?

Garcia: “None, at least not with me. Maybe [manager] Cameron Dunkin and Top Rank have talked about it, but I’ve been really busy in the last couple of weeks and I haven’t heard much from Cameron or Top Rank at all.”

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