Mikey Garcia should dominate Sergey Lipinets for IBF super lightweight title
Mikey Garcia attempts to win a title in his fourth weight division when he challenges Sergey Lipinets for his IBF super lightweight title.
Mikey Garcia is regarded as one of the best boxers in the sport. He fights Sergey Lipinets on March 10, but it doesn’t seem like a fair matchup.
Garcia has an immaculate record of 37-0 with 30 knockouts. He is likely to defeat Lipinets, which would earn him a major world title in his fourth weight division. What’s troubling is that someone as limited as Lipinets is in a position to defend a world title.
According to Sports Book Review, Lipinets is rightfully listed as a massive underdog at +1750 odds. He is 13-0 with 10 knockouts. It’s astonishing that a boxer can be a champion with that record against limited opposition. He’s never beaten a notable opponent.
Also, Lipinets doesn’t have an abundance of amateur experience to rely on. He started his combat career as a kickboxer and later transitioned to boxing. He had approximately 40 bouts as an amateur boxer, and he never achieved any significant titles or accolades. He’s the definition of a paper champion.
Garcia, on the other hand, has been groomed for success as a boxer. His brother and former champion Robert Garcia is his trainer. He started competing on the amateur circuit at 14 years old and won a slew of national awards. The Garcias are a boxing family. Boxing is in Mikey Garcia’s blood.
Lipinets is clearly out of his league against Garcia. The only thing that might help out Lipinets is that the effectiveness of Garcia’s power at super lightweight is still unknown.
Garcia has only fought twice as a super lightweight. His last fight in this division occurred last July against Adrien Broner, when Garcia won by unanimous decision.
Most of Garcia’s fights were as a featherweight. His last knockout came against Dejan Zlaticanin as a lightweight in early 2017. He knocked Zlaticanin out in the third with a crushing right cross in what was arguably the most picturesque knockout of his career.
Regardless of weight, Garcia should knock out Lipinets. Experience is the deciding factor in this contest. Garica has it and Lipinets doesn’t. Lipinets can’t handle Garcia’s expert skill set. He’s a novice professional battling an adept boxing tactician.
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Look for Garcia to knock out Lipinets in either the fifth or sixth round. This should be an easy night’s work for Garcia. If Terence Crawford continues to campaign as a welterweight, the super lightweight division is wide open for Garcia.