Anyone think of comparable matchups from the past? Was thinking Mayweather/JMM but that was even less compelling imo, give that JMM was a career featherweight and well passed his best when the fight happened.
It's very odd. Garcia is an odd guy. We're being told he's taking this fight cos he can't get the fights he wants...........so why take a fight you really DON'T WANT? It, in this case, literally, is cutting your nose off to spite your face. It COULD be a case of can't get down to 155lbs , but I doubt it. Take the baby and get out.
Can’t see Garcia pulling off an upset here at all. He’s skilled but Spence is skilled too and Mikey simply won’t be able to overcome what Spence brings to the table. Spence ends this in the mid rounds.
It makes perfect sense if you consider the reasons he won't make the other fights and realize those reasons don't apply when it comes to Spence. For example, Loma is a guy everyone wants him to fight. But he's promoted by Arum who Garcia decided he would rather retire than be promoted by. But Spence is not promoted by Arum.
Ok. I'd like to climb Mt McKinley. But I can't. So I will climb Everest instead, with no oxygen. Right??
Yeah but the size difference? Sharp shooting the shit out of a horse with a pea-shooter don't make much difference.
How about Amir Khan? Or Kell Brook? Or somebody at 147 that he can actually beat and it's worth something and he makes some money and lives to make more money? I don't think the guy wants to be in boxing and he wants to get out with $2m, $3m after tax and go back to racing cars or raising a family. Which is fine. Just got to be a better way than this.
First, he has a lot more to lose against guys like that. He loses to Spence - no big deal. He loses to Khan? Kind of a disaster. Second, anything too short of Spence and he'll be accused of ducking Loma. I was with you on this. Why the fuck? And I even watched a bunch of interviews with R. Garcia to try to understand. But I just think it's a business decision. And if you ask me, one with tons of upside and not a lot of downside. Which is to say, it seems like a smart move.
We'll see. He showed good power at 140. I wouldn't totally discount his ability to check that chin at 147.
That's why I asked if it was a kind of Tony Janiro kind of thing. But LaMotta was never going to take a career-truncating beating off Janiro. Garcia might lose 2-3 prime fights here.
This is a classic Welter vs Lightweight fight, in the truest fashion of the expression. Good Big Un vs Good Little Un....
Good question!! Duran vs Leonard but there's a much bigger difference between Garcia and Duran than there is between Spence and Leonard. Duran was able to make light of the size and speed difference, he was just an anomaly for a Latin fighter, he was able to come up many divisions and fight the best and retain power, as far north as 168 no less. Mikey has a good neck, strong boy, good boy, but small boy. Not dervish-like enough or intense enough to make up for the size difference.
The DOWNSIDE is Mikey Could Take a Career Compromising Ass Whipping, One That Could Impact Any Future Fights @ Lower Weights... Spence is a MEAN, PHYSICAL Fighter and Despite What he SAYS he's Competitively OFFENDED a Smaller, Older, Weaker, Slower Man REALLY Thinks he Can Move Up 2 Weights and Beat Him...He Doesn't Just Want the W, He Wants to Do a Number on Mikey... Robert Garcia Better Keep Towel in Hand All Fight Looooooong, to Spare His Little Brother Unnecessary Punishment... REED
What's Funny About that Pic is Spence is CUTTING Weight as Mikey's BULKING UP... Luckily for Mikey it's an IBF Title Fight, So Spence Can Only Regain 10 Pounds for the Morning Of Weigh-In, But He'll Walk Into the Ring a Super Middleweight for Certain... REED
He Showed DECENT Power @ '40... Beat Broner Decisively But REED Doesn't Recall Broner Ever Being Hurt, Just Outclassed...Dropped Lipinets Fairly Early, but Lipinets ACCLIMATED Himself to Mikey's Punch Pretty Quickly and was Never Troubled the Remainder of the Fight...Like Broner, he was Outclassed... You're Correct in Mikey Being an Accurate, Sharp Shooting Counter Puncher w/EXCELLENT Timing...He'll HIT Spence for Certain, but REED Questions Mikey's Ability to DETER Spence...We'll Learn in the Very 1st Round if Mikey's Able to Do That... REED
Yep... Duran and Pac Possessed a Dynamic, Athletic Quality to Them that Made Weight Jumping Less of a Factor...This Quality Escapes Mikey, Whose Waaaaaaaaaaaaaay More Measured and Deliberate in his Approach... REED
I think the last part is the bottom line. Robert Garcia is not going to allow his brother to take the kind of beating that Brook did. Plus, Garcia has a good defense.
And like it or not, losing the 'O' nearly always hurts a fighter's marketability nowadays. Getting totally destroyed (if that happens) to top it off will have an impact not on just marketability but his leverage in negotiations for potential future fights. It would be no different if he faced Anthony Joshua. All casual fans will see is a guy that got his ass kicked.
Yes. But then he's one good win away from being back in the bunch. Thing is, it's not like the Loma et al fights are without risk.
If it's true he can't get big fights now, then it will be even less likely he gets them afterward if he's just been thrashed. At a minimum he'll get lowballed in every negotiation and have to be willing to accept it if he wants another big win. Best case scenario is lasting the distance. If however he gets dominated and KTFO his stock will drop size difference or not.
That's boxing. And as much as his stock could drop from losing to Spence, it would drop even more if he lost to a guy in his own division. And if you think about it, who are the "PPV opponents" in his own division? Can't think of any not fighting on DAZN or ESPN.