Mikey Garcia wins title via unanimous decision: Round-by-round recap
Mikey Garcia was a 20-1 favorite going into his bout with Sergey Lipinets.
The odds pick to win, Garcia was fighting for a chance to win a title in his fourth weight division and he handled the pressure well but didn’t dominate as much as expected.
Mikey Garcia fought as a super lightweight for only the third time in his decorated career and continued his unbeaten streak. He boxed well but didn’t overshadow Lipinets.
Physically, Mikey Garcia looked like a true super lightweight in round one. Garcia was supposed to be the smaller boxer, but he looked just as big as Lipinets. He established his jab and showed faster hands than Lipinets. Garcia took this round easily.
Garcia was on his back foot in the second but threw some nice counter rights. Lipinets continued to fight at a slow pace. Garcia stayed calm and measured, but he landed the more accurate punches. Towards the end of the round, punches came more frequently, but Garcia got the best of the exchanges.
Lipinets threw the first attack of the third, but Garcia answered back with a flurry of his own. Lipinets established his jab, which was absent earlier. It was a much better round for him. Garcia’s nose continued to bleed from the previous round, but he was the more active boxer within the last 45 seconds. This was a hard round to score, but Lipinets had his best round of the fight. He proved he wasn’t going to be a pushover.
Lipinets continued to show confidence in round four. He pressed the action and threw multiple combinations. He tagged Garcia with some nice shots and his punches looked strong. But Garcia turned things around with some strong right hands. He did enough to steal this round away from Lipinets.
Not much occurred in the first minute of round five. Garcia landed the first meaningful punch of the round with a series of left hooks. He landed several more to close out the final minute of the round. Garcia won the round but he lacked the activity level of past fights.
In the sixth, Garcia broke through Lipinets’s defense with some wild rights, but Lipinets took them well. Garcia’s power didn’t seem to have much impact at the super lightweight division. He couldn’t hurt Lipinets through the first half of the fight.
Garcia and Lipinets both landed some powerful punches in the seventh. Garcia’s right hand got the better of Lipinets and he hurt him with it midway through the round. He followed it with a left hook that dropped Lipinets. Garcia’s power came alive in this round. Lipinets’s face was beet red as the bell rang.
In the eighth, Lipinets showed a warrior’s spirit as he bravely attacked Garcia, but Garcia outboxed Lipinets. He stayed relaxed and chipped away at Lipinets’s face with his jab. Lipinets recovered well from the previous round.
Lipinets kicked off the ninth by landing some nice body shots on Garcia. He landed a nice right halfway through the round, but Garcia landed a powerful uppercut that hurt Lipinets. Lipinets was active enough to win this round.
Garcia coasted in the first part of the 10th. He turned it up a bit as the round went on, but his activity level was passive. He took the round but barely.
The 11th mimicked so many of the previous rounds where Lipinets started the round well with Garcia ending strong. Garcia was inactive enough to give Lipinets the round.
Garcia won the final round with clean, accurate punches. He moved around the ring and attacked when needed. Lipinets fought on courageously and was competitive, but Garica still won the round. Garcia’s power punches had a bigger impact than Lipinets’s.
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Garcia won the fight by unanimous decision, but he didn’t outclass Lipinets in the fashion that most expected. Lipinets proved to be a tough, well-rounded boxer. He did not look like a 20-1 underdog and upped his stock.
Garcia is a good, not great, super lightweight. He can win titles as a super lightweight, but he won’t dominate in the same manner he did in lower weight classes.
As a featherweight, Garcia’s power is exceptional. As a super lightweight, it’s very good. It would be a huge mistake for him to move up another weight class. The division is wide open for him so he should stay put.