WBC lightweight champion Mikey Garcia (38-0, 30 KOs) is convinced that he's got the right style and the right skills to overcome the long odds in a potential fight with IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence.
Garcia takes part in his first unification this coming Saturday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
He faces undefeated IBF world champion Robert Easter, in a Showtime televised main event.
Garcia has captured world titles at featherweight, super featherweight, lightweight and junior welterweight.
His last two fights were at 140, where he had comfortable decision wins over Adrien Broner and Sergey Lipinets.
Now he wants a fifth divisional title, against one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.
And he wants the fight with Spence to take place before the end of the year.
"There’s another fight at the end of the year that I’m looking forward to even more. If everything goes well against Robert, I want to challenge for the IBF world welterweight crown. The undefeated champion is Errol Spence Jr. — big, strong, dangerous fighter. Everybody is telling me not to take the fight. Everybody. Even my father and my brother. 'Don’t take it right now,' they say. 'Let’s go after the other guys first. You don’t even need to go to welter. You can take on the guys at 135 or 140, where you’re a little more comfortable," Garcia told The Player's Tribune.
"But that doesn’t excite me. I want the toughest guy, and that happens to be a welterweight. I’m better than ever. I’m in my prime. And because everybody says no, that gives me more motivation to do it. Besides, this is the kind of fight that is going to cement my name in boxing history. Other fighters win titles, and then just defend them. What’s the point in that? The champions we remember are the ones who take risks, who take on the biggest challenges, the biggest fights.
"That’s why I want to take the fight. And when I win it, I think the whole world’s gonna be like, 'Wow, this is no joke. This kid really is the best on the planet.'"
