Mikey Garcia feels a disadvantage when fighting at super lightweight
Mikey Garcia returns to the lightweight division to face unbeaten IBF champion Robert Easter Jr. Mikey feels at home as a lightweight.
Mikey Garcia (38-0, 30 KOs) is arguably one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world. Garcia owned the competition from the featherweight division through the super lightweight division. After two consecutive bouts at super lightweight, Garcia returns to lightweight against unbeaten Robert Easter Jr. (21-0, 14 KOs) on Saturday, July 28. With his ability to add and lose weight, it’s hard to tell which division is Garcia’s best.
Garcia won both of his last bouts as a super lightweight by unanimous decision. He looked good at a higher weight, but his punches didn’t have the same impact. His return to lightweight is a better fit for his size and ability. He’s a strong puncher at 140 pounds but he’s a devastating puncher at 135 pounds.
Easter is a tall, rangy boxer at 135 and has a pronounced size advantage over Garcia. At 5-foot-11, Easter is five inches taller than Garcia and has an eight-inch reach advantage. Despite his physical gifts, Easter has struggled against shorter fighters in the past. In his last fight against Javier Fortuna, Easter won narrowly by majority decision. Fortuna’s size and reach are identical to Garcia’s
Garcia talked about Easter’s fight with Fortuna during Thursday’s media call. He respects Easter’s ability and related why Easter had to grind out a win against Fortuna.
“Javier Fortuna has a weird, awkward style that gives anybody problems,” explained Garcia. “Javier Fortuna is tricky, experienced, a former champion. Robert Easter sometimes gives up the height and reach advantages on his own because he’s a fighter — because he likes to fight and exchange punches and looks for a knockout.”
When a boxer moves up in weight, it usually means that they’ve out-grown the division. That’s not the case with Garcia. He feels like he has the ability to fight across multiple weight divisions.
“The right eating and the right diet allow me to fluctuate in weight and come back down to 135,” said Garcia. “I feel strong. I feel fast. I feel very healthy.”
While talking to Premier Boxing Champions, Garcia discussed his future plans if he’s successful against Easter.
“We have got to get past Easter first but I have been mentioning that I want to move up to the welterweight division soon, maybe as soon as the end of this year,” said Garcia to Premier Boxing Champions.
A fight against Errol Spence Jr. would be a risky proposition for Garcia. Spence is the undefeated IBF welterweight champion and is physically imposing in comparison to Garcia. There’s no doubt that Spence is the bigger boxer between the two.
Garcia is looking for big money fights but jumping up to welterweight could be a struggle for Garcia. Garcia won a clear decision in his last fight against Sergey Lipinets, but his victory wasn’t as decisive as past performances. He showed some vulnerability against Lipinets at super lightweight. He only out-landed Lipinets by 25 punches according to CompuBox statistics.
When discussing his movement between weight classes during Thursday’s media call with FanSided, Garcia admitted that there are disadvantages when fighting at a higher weight.
“I feel comfortable at both divisions,” said Garcia. “I feel fast and strong in either division, but I do feel that I’m at a disadvantage when I’m fighting at super lightweight, 140 pounds. These guys are naturally bigger and carry more weight but I feel the same as far as my abilities go.”
Next: Munguia to prove he's no one-hit wonder vs. Smith
If Garcia feels a disadvantage at super lightweight, that disadvantage would be amplified at welterweight. Regardless of Garcia’s future plans, he still has a game opponent in Easter that he has to surpass first. It will be interesting to see what Garcia decides to do if he’s victorious against Easter.