Mikey Garcia: record, next fight and profile →
By Keith Idec - Mikey Garcia was blunt about why he’ll fight Sergey Lipinets next, not Jorge Linares. The unbeaten WBC lightweight champion was offered more money to battle Lipinets for the hard-hitting Kazakh’s IBF junior welterweight title than he would’ve earned for moving back down to lightweight to fac...
Mikey Garcia figures Vasyl Lomachenko would welcome a fight against him. Bob Arum, on the other hand, doesn’t want that fight to happen. That’s what Garcia told a group of reporters following a press conference in Los Angeles on Monday, when his February 10 fight against Sergey Lipinets was officially announced.
Garcia, Lipinets San Antonio Press Conference Photos Gallery - SAN ANTONIO - Undefeated three-division world champion Mikey Garcia and unbeaten IBF Junior Welterweight World Champion Sergey Lipinets were face to face for the second straight day Tuesday at a press conference in San Antonio to discuss their main event showdown taking place Saturday, Feb. 10 live on SHOWTIME (10:15 p.m. ET/PT). The matchup of top-5 ranked junior welterweights is presented by Premier Boxing Champions at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
On February 10, three-division world champion Mikey Garcia will aim to capture a belt in his fourth division, when he takes on IBF junior welterweight world champion Sergey Lipinets at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Garcia (37-0, 30 KOs), who still holds the WBC lightweight title that he won in January with a knockout of Dejan Zlaticanin , had moved up to 140-pounds back in July when he dominated four-division champion Adrien Broner over twelve rounds.
Mikey Garcia considers his second fight at 140 pounds more than dangerous than his first. Garcia’s convincing win against Adrien Broner proved the WBC lightweight champion can succeed as a junior welterweight. The unbeaten Garcia knows full well, though, that Sergey Lipinets is a bigger puncher than Broner and thus should pose a bigger risk when they fight for Lipinets’ IBF 140-pound championship February 10 in San Antonio.
Richard Schaefer thinks this is just the beginning for Mikey Garcia. Beating Sergey Lipinets on February 10 wouldn’t just add a world title in a fourth weight class to Garcia’s already-impressive resume. It’ll strengthen Garcia’s standing as a future superstar, according to Schaefer, whose company, Ring Star Sports, is the co-promoter of the Garcia-Lipinets card.
Mikey Garcia was completely transparent about his motivation for remaining at 140 pounds to challenge Sergey Lipinets. Fighting Lipinets doesn’t just give Garcia a chance to become a world champion in a fourth weight class. The unbeaten WBC lightweight champ was offered more money for their 12-round fight February 10 than for lightweight championship unification matches against Jorge Linares and Robert Easter Jr., and another 140-pound bout with Omar Figueroa.
This past Sunday, December 17, Boxing restaurant Last Round Bar & Grill along with Supreme Boxing had its 1st Annual Holiday Toy Giveaway hosted by WBC World Lightweight Champion Mikey Garcia and friends in Ontario, CA. The event was a huge success with over 800 people showing up for gifts as well as many fans and press coming to donate gifts for the Children. WBC Champ Mikey Garcia, Former Champion Jessie Vargas, who had just fought and won his fight two days before, Contender Hugo Centeno Jr., along with prospects Joseph Landeros, Panchito De Vaca, Jose Gomez, Brandon Glanton, and Recording Artist Martin Castillo.
Showtime Sports' expert analyst Al Bernstein, is a very big fan of the potential matchup between world champions Vasyl Lomachenko (10-1, 8 KOs) and Mikey Garcia (37-0, 30 KOs). Last week, Lomachenko retained his WBO super featherweight title with a one-sided stoppage of Guillermo Rigondeaux in six rounds.
Whatever happens against Sergey Lipinets, Mikey Garcia will remain the WBC lightweight champion after they fight February 10. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman announced through his Twitter account Friday morning that Garcia will keep the WBC 135-pound championship because he and Jorge Linares are on course to fight following their upcoming bouts.