Three division world champion Mikey Garcia (37-0, 30 KOs) believes his upcoming opponent, IBF junior welterweight champion Sergey Lipinets (13-0, 10 KOs), is being underestimated by a lot of critics.
The two boxers will collide on Saturday night at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas. The contest will be televised by Showtime.
Garcia, who still holds the WBC lightweight world title, also won belts at featherweight and super featherweight.
Garcia admits that he's probably better suited for the lightweight limit of 135, where he's physically bigger and stronger than most of the competition and has other advantages in his corner.
But he feels just as good at junior welterweight.
Last July Garcia made his debut at 140 and had very few problems in winning a dominating decision over twelve rounds against former four division champion Adrien Broner.
"I feel good. I'm fighting a bigger man naturally, so that's something I have to get adjusted to but I still feel that my ability and my skills are enough to compete at the highest level with these men and that's why I'm comfortable fighting at 140. I still feel that 135 might be a better fit for me because I'm a little bit of a naturally bigger, stronger man at 135, but at 140 I feel just as good as far as my speed, my footwork and my reflexes," Garcia said.
Lipinets has risen quickly in the ranks, but many believe his style - which is very aggressive with little focus to defense - is tailor-made for Garcia.
"Some critics aren't giving Lipinets much credit because he's only had 13 fights, but that tells you how good of a fighter he is. It took me 30 fights to be a world champion. He's a high caliber fighter who brings great danger. At the end of the day, I believe I'm the better boxer and that will help me get the win," Garcia said.