Mikey Garcia seems to be as upbeat as possible going into his fight against Jessie Vargas on Feb. 29.
The one-sided loss to Errol Spence last March? It’s like it didn’t happen, according to a report on BoxingScene.com. Garcia insists he believes in himself as much now as he did before Spence shut him down and out.
Garcia (39-1, 30 KOs) went into that fight undefeated.
“My mind is not on the loss,” he told BoxingScene. “It’s to keep moving forward in a positive direction. Losses are a part of boxing. You lost. So what? I fought the best guy in the division and moved up two weight classes. Why should I be sad and crying? If I keep dwelling on the past, then I’ll be depressed. That’s not who I am.
“Fast forward to now, I’m f—— excited! I’ve been on a high hitting on everything that I wanted. This is f—— badass. I can’t believe how I took that loss; it’s like nothing ever happened. I keep going, and I’m doing very well.”
Garcia said he simply had an off night against Spence.
“There’s a lot more I can deliver that wasn’t shown in my last fight,” he said. “I know that for a fact. My fans know that I can provide more, but for whatever reason, I just wasn’t able to. I was slow, sluggish and tired versus Spence.
“Everything that could have went wrong, went wrong, and there was nothing else I could do. I want to prove that I am faster, smarter and stronger.”
Garcia will face Vargas (29-2-2, 11 KOs) at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas on DAZN.