Ya know, for the flack that Crawford gets for his resume, on this forum and others, it seems no criticism ever comes Mikey Garcia's way. Which is strange, because people ignore the fact that Mikey himself has a very thin resume. I'm beginning to wonder if Mikey is more talk than action. This guy has called out Loma, Spence, Thurman, and now Crawford, but nothing seems to happen, and it doesn't seem like team Garcia is making a SERIOUS effort to secure these fights. You say you want Spence for MONTHS on end - Spence wanted the fight, Showtime wanted the fight, then last minute you bitch out and fight this nobody Richard Commey instead? What was the point of calling out Spence in the first place? It's also a weak move on Mikey's part if he stays at 135 and the Loma fight DOESN'T happen, because outside of Loma, 135 is one of the weakest divisions in the sport. I know he doesn't wanna work with Arum, but if he REALLY wants Loma and Crawford... he's gonna have to work with Arum. He has no choice. It seems like Mikey is the ONLY P4P guy in boxing who's above criticism. Crawford, Loma, Spence, Golov, Canelo, all these guys receive harsh criticism... all the time. Why is Mikey Garcia the only P4P guy who can do no wrong? When really... this guy isn't fighting any top fighters. Seems to me the Garcia brothers just wanna name drop the top guys, and continue to fight second rate opp.
When you have only two guys that are head and shoulders above the rest, the entire boxing public wants it made and it doesn't come off it's easier to place blame (at least a larger portion of it) on one side. Mikey is an excellent fighter with plenty of options. In the mean time he goes out and usually fights reasonably solid fighters without just sitting on the shelf demanding big money fights. He's expressed interest in facing the best out there but I think he knows as well as anybody that it's not that simple. I don't know every comment he's made about one potential opponent or another, but he hasn't come off to me like he's accusing everybody of cowardly ducking him either.
Wilder-Fury Ruined Spence-Mikey. Showtime Was Only Going to Do 1 More PPV in 2018. The PLAN Was for Spence-Mikey to Fill That Void, Then Wilder-Fury LITERALLY Materialized Out of Thin Air. Not Saying Mikey Would’ve 100% Gone Thru w/the Spence Fight, if Not for Wilder-Fury, But Once the PPV Option Was Removed Spence-Mikey Didnt Make Much CENTS. REED
What's hilarious is some of the after fight assessments of Broner, that act like he's just an under-achiever and that if he just tried harder, he could easily win. "Broner beat himself." That's nonsense.
That's casual fan thinking. Thinking that sadly, a lot of my casual fan friends have. They honestly believe AB is just as good as Floyd if he's focused. I think by now, us real fans know that Broner is simply losing because he's not a top fighter... motivated or not.
That's not just casual, it's stupid. Any fighter, athlete or line cook for that matter could be better if they worked harder, were more focused blah blah. Room for improvement doesn't mean one can transform from good to great. Broner working harder will get him as close to Mayweather as me or you working harder to be as tall as Yao Ming.
It's worth pointing out that back in the late 1990's, Oscar Tito and Quartey, three guys who would go on to fight a lot of big fights and big names between them..........could not get close to fighting each other. By 2000, Oscar alone had fought Quartey, Tito and Mosley. Tito went off unifying at 154. Winky Wright, who had been promoted by the Acaries brothers in France had been on the Euro route fighting British bums......he landed big fights with Vargas, Shane, Hopkins and Taylor. People might not readily recall it but in the pre-Internet age, or the time just before the net took over, one publication over here called "Boxing Monthly" had ODLH on the cover and a big headline "WHat's it all about, Oscar". The big fights always happen. Like buses nothing happens then 3 come along at once.
Yes, but Bonehead Broner could have 1. Gotten down to 135 and stayed there. 2. Fought more often 3. Chatted less shit. He'd probably have a reputation now as one of the best Post-Floyd lightweights if he had done that.
There are very few big fights which never happened. Lewis vs Tyson, Johnson vs Tapia, DM vs Roy Jones, Lewis vs Bowe. I am no Encyclopaedia but I can't recall too many fights which really needed to happen and never did. Even back in the "Glory Days" it happened..........Jofre vs Pimental, Marciano vs Patterson. It happens. Most of the big stuff eventually came to pass.
I understand that, and I do expect these fights to happen eventually, it's just a matter of how "eventually" we're talking. I don't know if I can be arsed with another Floyd-Manny situation (yes I know they were higher profile, but still).
I agree but that was a special case where the bargaining power of the fighters, especially Floyd, was totally disproportionate. I don't think Garcia has that sort of power and not having made career-changing money, he's got to fight sooner or later. Lewis vs Tyson came very late, as did Jones vs Calzaghe.........these things happen unfortunately.
TIMING... Spence-Mikey HADN'T Even Gotten to the Negotiation Stage When Wilder-Fury Blossomed, and Pacquiao Wasn't a PBC Fighter Just Yet... Once the PPV Option Dissolved, Mikey Looked Towards Comey... That Said, Pacquiao-Broner is More of a SURE Sell PPV Than Spence-Mikey Would've Been, in REED's Opinion...Spence-Mikey MIGHT have Done Good Numbers, but Pacquiao-Broner WILL Do Good (if Not Great) Numbers... The Fight Itself Doesn't Alter the Landscape or Move the Boxing Needle in Terms of IMPORTANCE, but Pac and Broner are STILL Among Boxing's Top 10 PERSONALITIES Lb for Lb, Regarding Media Attention, Viewers, etc. It's a SAFER Fight to Put On PPV Than Spence-Mikey Would've Been, as a Financial Risk... REED
For Broner to beat himself, he'd have to get in a very long queue of other guys beating him. And I don't believe that somebody who is "About Billions" would have patience as their strong suit.
Looks like Spence-Garcia is in fact gonna happen, Feb. 22... on PPV. Fucking ridiculous man! Three Showtime PPVs in three months. We're looking at shitty numbers for this one. Spence isn't yet a mainstream name, and Mikey is TOTALLY unknown except to hardcores. This fight woulda done very good ratings on regular Showtime, but it's gonna bomb on PPV.
Can't believe garcia is going through with it. I guess he sort of has nothing to lose. Hard to even imagine him winning.
I’m in shock that he’s going for this fight, honestly. He should test the waters first against somebody like Danny Garcia or Amir Khan. Somebody he can beat, just to see how he handles the jump up in weight. Spence is a fucking beast at 147. Big welterweight very much like Leonard, Trinidad, Benitez, in terms of SIZE... I can’t visualize Garcia coming out on top here.
