Mikey Garcia At New Weight, Aims For New Title

0
923

At the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi this Saturday Mikey Garcia makes his Super Featherweight debut and challenges for the WBO title against the champion, Rocky Martinez. In his last fight, Garcia knocked JuanMa Lopez out but was stripped of the title after not making the weight limit. Even though he won the fight, he still lost the title and after months of preparation he was left feeling disappointed, “I was very sad.  I worked very hard to get that title – I waited over two years in line to get that title shot and to not be able to defend and to lose it on the scale – it was hard.  As we were walking down the elevator and through the hallways going to the weigh-in knowing that I was no longer champion – I just tried to move forward and do the best that I could.”

It seems that the fight to make weight was tougher than the actual fight with Lopez but leading up to the fight Garcia was unsure how his body would perform physically after the weight drain. ‘It was a little bit of uncertainty on our part because we weren’t 100% sure if my body was going to be able to recover to be able to fight to the best of my capabilities. We were worried that my body would not be able to take a punch as well, that I may tire soon, that I may not be 100%.  But everything went well – I started feeling confident after the first round.  I started working behind my jab and after I dropped him in the second round I knew that I still had the power to hurt him.  Everything turned out well in the fourth round.”

After having issues making weight in his last fight the obvious question is “How is Garcia making weight now…” which he stated, “So far everything is going so well I think I can make 126 again.  But we feel that we want to be comfortable in the ring on Saturday night.”

Once again in this fight we re-visit the Mexico vs. Puerto Rico rivalry. Although Garcia is not a native born Mexican he stated that he feels they are behind him. “People from Mexico follow me and they respond to me. They actually wish me good luck all the time.  The response from the Mexican fans – I welcome that and I enjoy that and I love that.  I don’t expect that but it’s great to have that support and love from the fans.”

 Although Garcia is moving up in weight he is the favorite to win the fight but he understands that he can’t look past Martinez and he is ready for the challenge, Garcia stated, “He’s very tough, very durable.  He’s one of the most resilient guys out there.  He is a world champion and he’s not going to let that title slip out of his hands easily.  He’s going to fight very hard to keep that title.  That’s why I think it’s going to be a very good fight for me.  I am not only moving up in weight but I am fighting a world champion in Rocky Martinez and that we are doing all the things necessary to be in the best shape possible to be prepared for Rocky Martinez.”