After 917 days on the shelf, Mikey Garcia was predictably anxious to get back to work.
And now that he's returned, already winning a pair of fights and adding a third weight class title belt to his trophy case, it's clear that he's not interested in another respite.
Instead, the 29-year old is temporarily abandoning his 135-pound championship to test the mettle of another multi-division claimant -- Adrien Broner -- in a 140-pound summit meeting on Saturday night.
The midsummer match will go off at Brooklyn's Barclays Center and be carried live as part of a card on Showtime that'll begin at 9 p.m. ET.
"It's a big fight. It's probably gonna be the biggest fight of my career to date," Garcia said.
"We were trying to secure title unification matches or a big title defense at 135, but nothing was really available. When the opportunity came up to fight Adrien Broner, we agreed right away.
"It makes the most sense for now. It's a big fight everybody seems to be very excited for. I'm very happy with the way things turned out."
Garcia has never fought beyond the 138 pounds -- the weight he fought at in a fifth-round TKO of Elio Rojas last July. He won the WBC's lightweight title six months later with an impressive third-round destruction of Dejan Zlaticanin -- boosting his career mark to 36-0 with 30 KOs.
Broner, who's claimed belts at 130, 135, 140 and 147 pounds, is 33-2 with 24 KOs and has never lost a fight while weighing less than 143.5 pounds -- going 31-0 with all 24 stoppages.
"As soon as they proposed the fight, as soon as there were talks about it, I agreed. I want to prove to everybody the kind of fighter that I am, the caliber of fighter that I am," Garcia said.
"That means I have to face the big names, the world champions, and prove to myself and prove to everybody. That's why I'm after these big challenges. Other fighters may do it for other reasons or they might hold out on a big fight to get a couple of easy wins and make a few extra bucks, but I'm here to take control of boxing and dominate the sport."
The fight is contracted for 140 pounds.
Broner last fought in February, defeating Adrian Granados by split decision at 146.5 pounds.
"Being that I am still champion at 135 and I still want to compete at 135, I wouldn't go over 140," Garcia said. "That was the only thing that concerned me and Adrien Broner accepted right away, too.
"There was hardly any trouble negotiating the fight. He just has to make 140 the day of the weigh-in and that's it. There will be some penalties if he doesn't make the weight, and it's still up to my own discretion if I decide to take the fight or not if he's over the 140 limit."
Garcia said the prolonged layoff prompted his urgency to get things done upon his return.
"Had I not stopped fighting for those two-and-a-half years I would've been taking these big fights," he said. "So I wanted to make sure I was back right where I belong, and in only my second fight I fought for a world title and defeated an undefeated world champion. I always had faith and hope and I believe in myself and I believe in my talent. Everybody still kept supporting me and still kept showing me love and care so I knew as soon as I would be back I would take over.
"The opportunities are here and the options are here for me. I'm very happy to be in the place that I am. I'm not surprised things are moving fast. I'm dictating the pace. I'm asking for these kinds of fights. I've got to keep winning and looking great and the options will and fights will be that much greater."
The Broner-Garcia bout will headline a two-bout Showtime card.
Broner vs. Garcia fight card
| Favorite | Underdog | Weightclass |
|---|---|---|
Mikey Garcia -210 | Adrien Broner +170 | Junior welterweight |
Jermall Charlo -3500 | Jorge Heiland +1200 | Middleweight |
Jarrell Miller -285 | Gerald Washington +225 | Heavyweight |
Katie Taylor -10000 | Jasmine Clarkson +1600 | Women's lightweight |
The show will open with a middleweight encounter matching former 154-pound champion Jermall Charlo -- a winner by KO/TKO in three of four title fights -- and rugged Argentine lefty Jorge Heiland.
The 27-year-old Charlo has 19 KOs in 25 career victories and is already slotted fourth at 160 pounds by the Independent World Boxing Rankings. Heiland, who's won eight straight fights since 2013, is eight slots south at No. 12 and has beaten one top-10 opponent (Matthew Macklin in 2014).
"This is a new Jermall Charlo who's better, bigger, faster and stronger," Charlo said.
"I know that Jorge is a come-forward kind of fighter. He's going to try to put a lot of pressure on me. It's my debut at 160 pounds so I get a chance to go up against someone who's never been knocked out before and who has knocked out known fighters. I'm preparing for the best of him."
Two more fights will be streamed on Showtime's Facebook page and YouTube channel involving heavyweights Gerald Washington and Jarrell Miller and female lightweights Katie Taylor and Jasmine Clarkson. They will air Saturday at 7:15 p.m. ET.
Miller, who hasn't fought since last August, is unbeaten with 16 KOs in 18 wins, while Washington's lone career loss came in February against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.
"I'm in killer mode right now but inside I'm jumping for joy," Miller said. "Gerald Washington is a good opponent for me coming back from a layoff. My main thing is to go in there and knock him out."
Garcia is a narrow main-event favorite according to the numbers guys at the Bovada online sports book, where it'll take a $210 wager to return a $100 profit on him, while a $100 outlay on Broner would return a $170 windfall for an upset.
Broner is listed as a top-10 contender in two weight classes – earning the WBC's No. 6 slot at 140 pounds and both the WBA's No. 2 position and the IBO's sixth spot at 147.
He's placed 11th by the IWBR at 147.
"My main focus is just getting in the best shape I can so I can go mess Mikey up," Broner said. "I know he's definitely trying to come hurt me, but I'm coming to mess him up. I feel like punching his face."
Broner vs. Garcia Tale of the Tape
| Fighter | Adrien Broner | Mikey Garcia |
|---|---|---|
Record | 33-2, 24 KOs | 36-0, 30 KOs |
Height | 5-foot-6 | 5-foot-6 |
Reach | 69-inch | 68-inch |
Weight | 140 pounds | 140 pounds |
Age | 27 | 29 |
Stance | Orthodox | Orthodox |
Hometown | Cincinnati, Ohio | Ventura, California |
Rounds | 199 | 178 |
How does Broner win? Whether he still has the skills he displayed while climbing the ladder is debatable, but what's not to be argued is that Broner indeed has the quicker hands and feet in this fight. He'll be best served in using his jab and coming forward against Garcia, while being careful not to stay stationary long enough to let his foe get set and to launch heavy counters. If he's successful in carrying the fight early and landing shots in high volume, he'll have a real chance to pull off the career-redefining upset.
How does Garcia win? If not for two years away, it's likely that Garcia would have set up shop atop every worthwhile pound-for-pound ladder. He's handled most of his 36 pro dates with the same patient, skilled and ultimately lethal approach, finding the holes in his foes' games before exploiting them -- all but six times inside the scheduled distance. He'll be the more technically skilled fighter in the ring on Saturday night, and the biggest question will be whether his ferocity translates against a 140-pound veteran.
Prediction: Broner by unanimous decision: The knee-jerk perception heading to the weekend is that Broner is past his best and will merely be a high-profile name for Garcia's burgeoning victims list. And if "The Problem" reaches the ring at anything less than 100-percent focus, that's precisely what'll happen. However, the former four-division champ has never lost a fight outside the welterweight division and -- should he indeed be as motivated as he suggests -- will provide the sort of all-around test Garcia hasn't seen at lower weights.
The big reveal should come in the first few rounds, and it's here that Broner will bring enough of his speed, power and fortitude to give the less-athletically gifted man frustrated fits all night long.
Expect him to resurrect his own career and send a beaten Garcia back to the lightweight ranks with a unanimous decision that'll carry numbers in the 116-112 range.
