By: Sean Crose
“I wanted to stay at 147 to look at fighting for a World Welterweight title,” Mikey Garcia says on the eve of his weekend match against Sandor Martin. “We had discussed the (Regis) Prograis fight at Welterweight as he was considering moving up to 147 and on Saturday we were looking to have the fight at 147, but Sandor has been at 140 so we agreed a 145 catchweight which I am not thrilled about but it’s OK.” Garcia has been in the business long enough to know things don’t always go his way. Yet the man tries to make sure he’s always situated in a good position career-wise.
“I’ve never stepped on the scales at 147,” he says. “I’ve been 144 or 145 so it’s the same to me. I want to have both options available. If there’s a chance to fight for a belt at Welterweight, I am ready but 140 is a more ideal weight for me at my size and body structure, it’s a more comfortable weight for me.” Garcia is looking for big fights, as he hasn’t been in the ring since besting Jessie Vargas in 2020. At the moment, though, he’s going to maintain focus on this weekend, when he faces Sandor at Chukchansi Park in Fresno, California.
“I understand the boxing business, so I was disappointed the Regis (Prograis fight) didn’t happen,” says Garcia, “but we move on. I hope that we can make that fight happen soon, if things go well on Saturday and win without any injuries or cuts, I’d want to pursue that fight straight away. That is a fight I want, the fans and media want it, but the scheduling and the promotional time needed to build a fight like that just wasn’t there.” Provided he wins this weekend, fans would no doubt appreciate a Garcia-Prograis match. Or a match with Josh Taylor.
“I don’t see myself at Lightweight ever again,” say, Garcia, “but I can see 140. There are some very good names at the weight, Josh Taylor is a great champion and if some of the guys at 135 look to move up, there’s so big fights at 140.” A loss to the widely unknown Sandor this weekend, however, could derail any or all plans Garcia may have.
“I just have to keep winning,” he says. “Victory on Saturday and then getting another win against someone like Regis, I think that should create enough attention to land a fight with Taylor. He’s the undisputed champion and that’s the biggest fight that I could engage in at the weight of course.”