Mikey Garcia's Coach Feels Errol Spence Fight is The Wrong Move
/By Radio Rahim - Via Boxing Scene
During a recent interview with BoxingScene.com, three division world champion Mikey Garcia (37-0, 30 KOs) revealed that the welterweight division is certainly in his immediate future.
Before he can even think about moving up in weight, Garcia must overcome his upcoming challenge.
On March 10th, Garcia will attempt to capture his fourth divisional title in a showdown with undefeated junior welterweight champion Sergey Lipinets.
Garcia made a shocking comment, regarding his willingness to move up to 147-pounds and take on the boxer who most experts have pegged as potentially being the best fighter in the division, IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence (23-0, 20 KOs).
"It's a bigger challenge, a bigger weight class. People may not take me serious, but I'm coming to welterweight later. That's going to happen. Whether it's at the end of this year or next year - I'm coming," Garcia told BoxingScene.com.
"I have to get done with these fights first at lightweight and super lightweight. But I'll be at welterweight soon, and if the opponent is offered and presented - I might be there even sooner. I would love the opportunity to fight Thurman or Spence. If you are going to challenge for a championship, you may as well do it against the best fighter.
"I don't want to take easy fights. I want something that's excites me, that motivates me. A title and a big name motivates me. And if its Spence or Thurman, those are the biggest names at welterweight."
But his head trainer, who also happens to be his older brother, Robert Garcia, is not exactly on board with that kind of fight.
He views Spence as a very, very difficult opponent - and believes that it would be a huge mistake if his younger brother rushed up to the welterweight division and fought Spence in his first bout at 147.
"I think Mikey will eventually move up in weight. And like a lot of other fighters who move up in weight, sometimes it's not really because they are too big for their weight division and they have to move up - its because of the business and their skills are good enough to compete at a higher division," Robert Garcia explained to BoxingScene.com.
"We have fighters who have won titles in five or six divisions and it was because of their skills.... Oscar De La Hoya did it, Mayweather, Pacquiao, Cotto. It's not because they were that big - its because of their skills. And I think that Mikey will eventually be able to do that, but I think right now I think it would be a mistake to go right out there and challenge Errol Spence. Spence I think is the best fighter in the division. He's very strong, very talented. I think we have to take it easy on that fight.
"Mikey might be able to beat a few welterweights - but if we pick the right welterweights Mikey might be able to compete in that division. It would have to be the right welterweight and not Errol Spence. But if at the end of the year Mikey decides to make that move [to fight Spence] - then we are going to support him and train him to do everything that he could do to beat him, but I personally would not push for that fight."