Mikey Garcia: record, next fight and profile →
By Keith Idec - FRISCO, Texas – Mikey Garcia proved Saturday night that he is more than capable of beating a bigger fighter in the welterweight division. With Errol Spence Jr. sitting ringside this time, Garcia returned from his only professional loss by defeating former WBO 147-pound champion Jessie Vargas by unanimous decision in their 12-round main...
Mikey Garcia, Jessie Vargas Scorecard BoxingScene Live - Ahead of the huge welterweight event headlined by four-division world champion Mikey Garcia against two-division world champion Jessie Vargas, the fighters hit the scales for the official weigh-in before entering the ring on Saturday night – live on DAZN. (photos by Ed Mulholland, Amanda Westcott).
FRISCO, Texas – The junior welterweights Regis Prograis really wants to fight are on a collision course to face one another later this year. With Jose Ramirez, the WBC/WBO 140-pound champion, and Josh Taylor, the IBF/WBA champ, occupied with mandatory defenses that could lead them toward a full title unification fight, Prograis hopes a victory over former WBO champ Maurice Hooker lands him what Prograis considers the biggest fight at 140 pounds.
FRISCO, Texas – Mikey Garcia fully understands why doubters don’t think he should continue competing at welterweight. Garcia says they shouldn’t feel any other way based on how he lost to Errol Spence Jr. last year. The former four-division champion suffered such a lopsided loss to the bigger, stronger Spence in their pay-per-view main event last March 16, most boxing observers figured Garcia would return to the 140-pound division for his comeback bout.
It wasn’t exactly the 2019 campaign he had in mind, although Jessie Vargas found ways to keep active even if not always in the ring. The former two-division titlist fought just once on the year—a 6th round stoppage of Humberto Soto last April. The bout was to serve as his test in a junior middleweight uniform, as he eyed a title run in a third weight division. His year was instead spent on the other side of the ropes, whether as an interested observer or as a part-time announcer with DAZN. The latter role has come natural to the personable Las Vegas native, though a career he’d rather consider once he’s done as a prizefighter—and certainly well beyond this weekends’s showdown versus Mikey Garcia live from The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas (Saturday, DAZN, 9:00pm ET).
For his own personal reasons, Sergey Lipinets would love to see Mikey Garcia secure his first welterweight win on Saturday. That doesn’t mean he’s picking the former four-division titlist outright in his bid versus Jessie Vargas. “I think it’s a 50/50 fight,” Lipinets (16-1, 12KOs) told BoxingScene.com ahead of Saturday’s main event, which airs live on DAZN from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. “Mikey is a good boxer but his lack of quality fights in the welterweight division could give Jessie a little edge.”
FRISCO, Texas – Jessie Vargas wasn’t necessarily surprised that Mikey Garcia decided to remain at welterweight. Vargas just thinks the former four-division champion made an enormous mistake by choosing him as the opponent for Garcia’s second fight at the 147-pound limit. The former WBO welterweight title-holder stands five inches taller than Garcia and is certain that his power will be one of the deciding factors in their 12-round main event Saturday night at Ford Center at The Star, the Dallas Cowboys’ training facility.
FRISCO, Texas – Mikey Garcia agrees with those that suggest the former four-division champion appears better suited for success at 140 pounds than at the welterweight limit of 147. Garcia would’ve preferred returning to the junior welterweight division for his first fight since Errol Spence Jr. dominated him in Garcia’s welterweight debut almost a year ago. The 32-year-old Garcia wanted to face a top opponent in his first bout back, though, and that type of fight wasn’t available at 140 pounds when Garcia began planning his return.
FRISCO, Texas – Mikey Garcia isn’t the least bit concerned about ring rust hurting his performance against Jessie Vargas on Saturday night. The 32-year-old Garcia hasn’t fought in nearly a year, not since suffering a lopsided loss to unbeaten IBF/WBC welterweight champ Errol Spence Jr. last March 16 at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington. This long layoff doesn’t concern Garcia because it isn’t even close to the most time he has spent out of the ring as a professional.
Mikey Garcia Video Interview - Ahead of the huge welterweight event headlined by four-division world champion Mikey Garcia against two-division world champion Jessie Vargas, the fighters hit the scales for the official weigh-in before entering the ring on Saturday night – live on DAZN. (photos by Ed Mulholland, Amanda Westcott).