Mikey Garcia is a boxer first and businessman-cum-pragmatist a close, close second.
The four-division titleholder has his eyes dead set on winning a world title at the 147-pound welterweight limit even though there are some, such as his father Eduardo and brother/trainer Robert, who believe that he would be better served dropping back down to 140, where the fights ostensibly would be more winnable.
Given the way Garcia, a former featherweight, struggled against welterweight titleholder Errol Spence Jr. last year, the elder Garcias are concerned that Mikey simply gives up too much size to be truly competitive against the likes of Shawn Porter, Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia and Terence Crawford.
Garcia’s recent points win over fringe welterweight contender Jesse Vargas in February arguably produced as many questions as answers.
“[My father and brother] still tell me, ‘You know, now that I did it (win a fight at welterweight) maybe I should consider coming back down to 140,'” Garcia said on the Chris Mannix Boxing Podcast. “They still feel like I’m a small fighter at 147, I’m too small. My dad especially. He feels like 140 pounds should be a better weight for me to be fighting at.
“Men at 140 are more comparable to my size. He still reminds me all the time. I was a featherweight, so size-wise, I’m not [that big].”
Garcia gets his family’s concerns. But the realist in him also knows 147 is where the big paydays are. A Manny Pacquiao fight could materialize later this year or whenever the coronavirus pandemic subsides. And nobody, at least as the welterweight division is concerned, brings in as much dough as Pacquiao.
Moreover, negotiations aren’t hampered by political divisions that routinely prevent some of the best fights from being made. Both are aligned with Premier Boxing Champions, as are most of the other top welterweights.
“I still feel that my abilities, my skills allow me to compete at 147, and I feel like I can win a title at 147, and that’s part of the challenge,” Garcia said. “I want to challenge myself. Not to say that at 140 there’s no challenges. Of course there are. But when you look at the politics and business, it’s going to be a bit more complicated to secure a world-title fight at 140, being that both champions are with different promotional companies.”
At 140, the four recognized titles are split evenly between Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor. Of course, the kicker is that they’re both promoted (read: controlled) by Bob Arum’s Top Rank, Garcia’s former promoter.
Garcia and Arum went through an ugly, protracted legal battle a few years ago. As a result, they don’t do business together these days. The bad blood apparently is still there. The irascible Arum went so far as to claim recently that he has no desire to work with Garcia ever again. Add to that the fact that Ramirez is trained by Robert Garcia, and it’s easy to see why Garcia has little faith that big fights at 140 can happen for him.
“I just don’t feel like I’m going to be able to secure a world title shot at 140 anytime soon,” Garcia said. “So I think my chances are good at 147.”
It’s a no-brainer for Garcia (40-1, 30 KOs). At 147, there’s more money, more challenges and most of all, no Arum.
“[My family] understand[s] that it’s my call to make the decision,” Garcia said. “I do consider their opinions very much and I do see their reasoning behind why 140 is a better weight class for me, but, like I said, when I look at politics, when I look at business, it’s going to be almost impossible to get one of those world title fights at 140.
“I just don’t want to be fighting contenders and waiting and waiting and waiting. 147 is a bigger challenge, but I still feel confident that I can accomplish what I want. I want to win a world title at welterweight.”
Lightweight titleholder Vasiliy Lomachemko, Boxing Junkie’s No. 1 fighter pound-for-pound, would be another intriguing matchup for Garcia. Two problems, though. One, moving back down to 135 would be difficult. And, two, Lomachenko is an Arum fighter.
“Look, you need to ask Bob,” Garcia said when asked about the Lomachenko matchup. “He controls them. He’s their promoter. I just saw a recent interview with him where he didn’t have much interest in a fight with me. I’m not waiting for anybody.”
Garcia is chasing both top risk and reward. Any criticism is just more fuel for the fire.
“That’s part of the risk, but that’s also part of the reward,” Garcia said. “You win a title in a fifth division when nobody thought you could do it, and that’s in the history books.
“Just because everybody thinks I can’t [win a title at 147], that just motivates me even more.”
Follow Sean Nam on Twitter @seanpasbon