Sandor Martin scores an upset over lethargic Mikey Garcia

After a long layoff, Mikey Garcia returned to the ring and showed lots of rust as he dropped a majority decision to Sandor Martin. 

Mikey Garcia is a former four-division boxing world champion who only had one loss coming into his Oct. 16 bout with unknown Sandor Martin. Time combined with Martin’s strategy proved too much for the former champion.

Martin (39-2, 13 KOs) came into his fight with Martin as a significant underdog. The 28-year-old from Spain was supposed to be a tune-up bout for Garcia, who hadn’t fought in 20 months. However, Martin didn’t come into this fight with the resolve of a loser.

Garcia (40-2, 30 KOs) made his way to the ring at Chukchansi Park in Fresno, CA, with all the bells and whistles. The crowd roared for the Californian, but they would grow silent as the fight went on.

Garcia was more aggressive than Martin, but he could never catch Martin. Ring rust likely played a part in Garcia’s performance, but age might be a factor as well. Garcia is 33 years old and was fighting as a welterweight, although his best work as a boxer was done as a lightweight.

Spain’s Sandor Martin stunned the fans at Chukchansi Park in Fresno, CA, as he outboxed and defeated former champion, Mikey Garcia

Garcia’s only loss before the surprising defeat against Martin came against welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. in 2019. Garcia dropped a lopsided decision in that one and looked to be too small for the division.

Despite Garcia’s poor performance against Spence, he elected to continue as a welterweight, and it backfired.

Martin’s hands were faster than Garcia’s, and his defense had Garcia missing and chasing throughout the contest. Martin deserves credit for beating Garcia, but Garcia’s lack of enthusiasm and preparation helped.

Garcia looked soft in the middle, and his hands were much slower than in past ring appearances. Garcia never showed any urgency and felt like he deserved to win the fight, even though most pundits felt like he lost.

After 12 rounds, the judges returned scores of 95-95 and two of 97-93 for Martin, giving him the majority decision victory.

Garcia was hoping for a fight against former super lightweight titlist Regis Prograis, but there’s little interest in that now that Garcia’s shine is gone. It’s hard to tell what’s next for Garcia. Hopefully, reality will set in, and Garcia will take an objective look back at this defeat and learn going forward.