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Mikey Garcia makes his third appearance at Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York City, this time as a defending titlist as he faces Juan Carlos Burgos in their 130 lb. title fight.
The bout serves as the main event of an HBO-televised doubleheader (Saturday 9:45PM ET). In the televised co-feature, Bryant Jennings faces Artur Szpilka in a matchup of unbeaten heavyweights.
Garcia (33-0, 28KO) enjoyed a sensational 2013 campaign that saw the unbeaten Oxnard, Calif. product land on many Fighter of the Year lists. Three wins came on the year, including alphabet titles in two weight classes.
It was just over a year ago when Garcia entered the title fray, scoring a one-sided technical decision over Orlando Salido to claim a featherweight belt in this very venue last January. The feat served as his introduction towards the sport's elite level, but failed to register a single title defense. His HBO-televised headliner versus Juan Manuel Lopez became a non-title affair after Garcia was forced to concede his title at the scales due to coming in over the limit during the pre-fight weigh-in. The instance slightly overshadowed an otherwise spectacular 4th round knockout of the former two-division titlist.
The year ended with Garcia overcoming a rare knockdown to stop Roman 'Rocky' Martinez in eight rounds to win the 130 lb. title at stake tonight.
Burgos (30-1-2, 20KO) is convinced that the same title on the line tonight belongs around his waist. The rangy Mexican boxer was held to a highly disputed 12-round draw versus Martinez in their showdown last January, on the undercard of Garcia's aforementioned win over Salido.
Tonight, the challenger returns to the scene of the crime, entering his third attempt at a major title. His other swing at alphabet hardware resulted in the lone loss of his career, a 12-round unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Hozumi Hasegawa in November '10 on the road in Japan.
With the third time be a charm for a hard-luck challenger, or will a defending champion enjoy his rapid ascension towards the sport's elite level.
Read on to see how the staff at Boxingscene.com believes the super featherweight title fight action will go down tonight. [Click Here To Read More]
The bout serves as the main event of an HBO-televised doubleheader (Saturday 9:45PM ET). In the televised co-feature, Bryant Jennings faces Artur Szpilka in a matchup of unbeaten heavyweights.
Garcia (33-0, 28KO) enjoyed a sensational 2013 campaign that saw the unbeaten Oxnard, Calif. product land on many Fighter of the Year lists. Three wins came on the year, including alphabet titles in two weight classes.
It was just over a year ago when Garcia entered the title fray, scoring a one-sided technical decision over Orlando Salido to claim a featherweight belt in this very venue last January. The feat served as his introduction towards the sport's elite level, but failed to register a single title defense. His HBO-televised headliner versus Juan Manuel Lopez became a non-title affair after Garcia was forced to concede his title at the scales due to coming in over the limit during the pre-fight weigh-in. The instance slightly overshadowed an otherwise spectacular 4th round knockout of the former two-division titlist.
The year ended with Garcia overcoming a rare knockdown to stop Roman 'Rocky' Martinez in eight rounds to win the 130 lb. title at stake tonight.
Burgos (30-1-2, 20KO) is convinced that the same title on the line tonight belongs around his waist. The rangy Mexican boxer was held to a highly disputed 12-round draw versus Martinez in their showdown last January, on the undercard of Garcia's aforementioned win over Salido.
Tonight, the challenger returns to the scene of the crime, entering his third attempt at a major title. His other swing at alphabet hardware resulted in the lone loss of his career, a 12-round unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Hozumi Hasegawa in November '10 on the road in Japan.
With the third time be a charm for a hard-luck challenger, or will a defending champion enjoy his rapid ascension towards the sport's elite level.
Read on to see how the staff at Boxingscene.com believes the super featherweight title fight action will go down tonight. [Click Here To Read More]