By: Hans Themistode
It was a jaw-dropping moment for both Mikey Garcia and his extremely large fanbase.
As the former four-division titlist began gearing up for a showdown against Regis Prograis, the California native first decided to take on the unheralded Sandor Martin. Although Garcia walked into their showdown as an enormous favorite, he was taken aback at the overall skills of Martin.
Though Garcia had his moments, he was thoroughly outboxed and handed only the second defeat of his pro career. Regardless of the shocking end result, Garcia is still on the hunt to face the best names in the sport of boxing.
Just a few weeks ago, Garcia nodded in approval while he took in the sights as Devin Haney scored a unanimous decision win over Joseph Diaz to defend his WBC lightweight crown. Needless to say, Garcia was impressed with what he witnessed.
“I thought it was a very good fight,” said Garcia during an interview with FightHype.com. “Haney fought a great fight. He used his jab to measure the distance. Keep a certain distance that fitted him. Used the height and reach advantage and fought a very good type of fight.”
In addition to Haney impressing Garcia with his overall performance, the former multiple division star went into details as he gave Haney credit for his complete maturity and expansion of his game.
“He’s developed more. He’s more mature. Few fights back he was still making a few mistakes here and there. Just the way he was fighting, he might be looking for the power a little too much or trying to load up on something too much. Now he’s being more patient and letting that come. He’s working off the jab a lot more, he’s managing the distance very well. He’s improving every fight. I’m pretty impressed with how he’s developing.”
Currently, the biggest obstacle standing in the way of a Haney vs. Garcia showdown is their weight discrepancy. At the moment, Haney campaigns at 135, although he has mentioned a move to the 140-pound division. Garcia, on the other hand, hasn’t fought in the lightweight division since nabbing a one-sided victory against Robert Easter Jr. in 2018.
Since then, Garcia has campaigned as a full-fledged welterweight. However, his last contest against Martin took place at a catchweight of 145 pounds. While Garcia acknowledges that squeezing his 34-year-old frame down to the 135-pound limit will be an arduous task, if he can successfully lure Haney into the ring, he’s willing to make the sacrifice.
“Coming down to 135 would probably be difficult for me,” continued Garcia. “If I was able to secure that fight then yea, I would do it. But I would need plenty of time to prepare and be in fight-ready shape. I would like that fight. That would be an interesting fight for me.”