Errol Spence dominates Mikey Garcia in decision victory

Errol Spence took care of business in front of a massive Texas crowd, notching a victory and maintaining his undefeated record against Mikey Garcia.

The majestic home of the Dallas Cowboys, AT&T Stadium, was transformed into an electric boxing atmosphere with an announced attendance of 47,525 fans taking in the biggest fight of 2019 thus far. Errol Spence Jr. (24-0, 21 KOs) and Mikey Garcia (39-0, 30 KOs) both stepped into the ring with zeros in their loss columns looking to stay undefeated and continue their climb up the ladder of the pound-for-pound rankings.

Spence, the IBF Welterweight Champion, who is considered a big welterweight fighter, put his title on the line against the smaller Garcia, the current WBC Lightweight Champion. The risk of Garcia coming up to a higher weight class to fight a very, very dangerous opponent while giving up so much in size made this fight incredibly intriguing to boxing fans.

Many boxing pundits and fellow fighters believed Garcia, already a four-division champion could make up the size difference with his skills and the experience advantage of fifteen more fights than Spence. Others, including the oddsmakers in Las Vegas who marked Spence as high as a -400 favorite, believed the size and power difference would be too much to overcome for Garcia.

The fight began relatively slowly with a feel-out process in the first, with Spence just slightly taking the round. From there, the much bigger Spence began opening up with quick combinations and hard punches to the body, overwhelming Garcia.  Determined to keep the fight on his terms, Spence consistently reset the distance when he felt Garcia getting into his rhythm.

Working the body was the key for Spence throughout the fight while mixing in hard hooks upstairs when Mikey presented openings. In the ninth round, Spence began pressing hard on the gas pedal trying to finish the fight as the 47,000-strong began to rise to their feet. Garcia would ultimately survive the round, but with little time remaining and the damage accumulating, it would take something miraculous to change the outcome of the bout.

Garcia proved he could hang in there with a much bigger fighter for the duration of the bout, but ultimately, the IBF Champion Spence was too much for Garcia to handle. Spece took the fight to Garcia, putting on a clinic over the course of twelve rounds, earning the unanimous decision victory 120-107, 120-108, 120-108.

With Spence taking care of business against Garcia, he now looks to further his career against one of the bigger names in the welterweight division, whether it be Terrence Crawford, Shawn Porter, or Manny Pacquiao – who he specifically called out in the ring after the fight. Pacquiao was sitting ringside and came into the ring to address the potential fight, but did not fully commit to it on the spot.

Spence earned the IBF Welterweight title against Kell Brook in 2017 and has since successfully defended the belt three times.

Garcia walks away with the first loss in his professional career, albeit against the biggest man he has faced thus far. He showed miles of heart, but simply did not have the tools to overcome the size and power difference that Spence presented. Garcia hinted at moving back down a division or two but needs some time to make a final decision.