Mikey Garcia returns to the state where he jumped up the scale and fell into the loss column for the first time. The travel plans haven’t changed, other than the wrong side of his record. He doesn’t intend to go back there.
But he is staying at welterweight in a risky fight against Jessie Vargas on Feb. 29 on DAZN in Frisco, Texas, not far from the AT&T Stadium in Arlington where he lost a one-sided decision to Errol Spence Jr. last March in his first bout at 147 pounds.
The motivation is a title in a fifth division. He has held belts at featherweight, junior lightweight and lightweight. He also won a couple of junior welterweight titles, first against Adrien Broner and then Sergey Lipinets. He then went back down to 135 before the bold move up the scale and into futility.
Spence beat him in just about every way in a ring at about the 50-yard line on the Dallas Cowboys home field. But he didn’t beat the bold out of him. Garcia is still as ambitious as ever.
“A world title in a fifth division is very exciting. I would love to fight for a title again at 147 pounds. Claiming a world title in a fifth division would be amazing, and that’s why I am staying at 147,’’ Garcia (39-1, 30KOs) said. “But there are other motivations for me in the sport. I’m not done, there’s a lot more to accomplish. After this fight, I’ll look at options at 147 and 140 pounds.
“I’m not stuck at either weight, I’m keeping my options open.’’
First, there’s Vargas. Lose to him and there are no options. Vargas (29-2-2, 11 KOs) has a draw with Broner. He lost to Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley. He goes into the fight with a couple of noteworthy physical advantages. At 5-foot-11, he is five inches taller than Garcia, who is listed at 5-6. With a 71-inch reach, he has a three-inch edge over Garcia.
“I think that there’s a lot more that I can do at 147 pounds,” said Garcia, No. 9 on Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list. “The Spence fight was not a representation of that. It wasn’t my night and not the fight that I wanted to fight. I just couldn’t perform, and once in a while you have an off night, and it happened to be that night for me. I need to show my fans and the boxing world that I can do a lot more, even at 147 pounds.’’
An impressive performance against Vargas would help him and fans forget about the disappointing performance against Spence.
“I have a lot of legacy to build still,” he said. “I want to create a bigger legacy for myself and for my family. I’m not done. I still feel I have a lot more to accomplish, and I know I will. I’m in the prime of my career right now. There’s no looking back or stopping me right now.
“I consider this the third stage of my career because I am coming off a loss. Can I come back stronger and better than before, or am I done? Past my prime? That’s why I’m here to prove it to everyone that I’m not any less than what you saw in previous years. In fact, I am only getting better. I’m not declining at all. I’m fast, strong and talented, and I consider this next part to be the best years of my career.”
