One of the biggest fighter let downs this year happened with one that didn’t lose a single fight and has yet to taste defeat in his career. Usually a fighter will consider the year a disappointment because he lost the momentum he had the year before (i.e. Adonis Stevenson and Danny Garcia) or because he lost a fight he should’ve won (i.e. Ruslan Provodnikov) or he didn’t get the upset decision he felt he deserved and perhaps earned (i.e. Jerry Belmontes).
Mikey Garcia (34-0, 28 KOs) was one of the biggest disappointments, not for any of the aforementioned reasons, but instead because he fought only once — a January win over Juan Carlos Burgos to secure his WBO junior lightweight title — and then went ghost for the remainder of the year.
Garcia wasn’t the only fighter to take 2014 off. Andre Ward received an equal amount of criticism from fans and media for his 2014 stalemate, if not more. But what makes Garcia such a disappointment, and more so in comparison to Ward, is that he was on the verge of becoming a real star before pulling a CM Punk by “taking his ball and going home.”
The argument for Ward is that he has wiped out an entire division and safely secured his position as the number two “Pound for Pound” fighter in the world. He raised his stock to a level that allowed him the necessary chips on his side of the table so that he could remain inactive and build the demand for fights while on hiatus. Ward wanted the star treatment and no one can argue that he has earned it.
Garcia, on the other hand, was still building his star before shattering his momentum with a lockout. This year could’ve been big, and he may have been the one to fight Manny Pacquiao in place of Chris Algieri – he probably would’ve fared better too.
It’s always difficult to know if a power move like the one Mikey made will pay off, it usually takes time and some hindsight before knowing whether a fighter benefited as a direct result of these type of decisions.
What we know right now is that Garcia is no closer to a big fight than he was before going idle. Even if Garcia was unable to secure a big fight in 2014 he would no doubt be poised to receive one at the start of 2015 had he continued to rack up victories against formidable opposition.
Robert Garcia, Mikey’s older brother and trainer, knows that his brother didn’t do himself any favors by sitting out the rest of the year. He remains loyal to his younger brother, but does not pull punches when telling it like it is.
“Mikey is ready to fight again, we want to get back into the ring. It’s been a year [since Mikey fought last]. It was probably a lost year, a year where Mikey could’ve done a lot of big things, but it’s never too late,” Garcia told Thaboxingvoice.com.
Mikey has the skills, he is capable of providing exciting fights, and is a marketable fighter with a loyal Hispanic following. These reasons are what make it so tough to (not) watch Mikey Garcia in his current predicament.
Rumors have surfaced recently that Top Rank and Mikey are close to finalizing a deal that will get the 27 year old Oxnard resident back into the ring in early 2015, but nothing is guaranteed as of yet and Mikey has been adamant about his stance and has repeatedly said he is willing to sit out as long as it takes.
The problem with his eventual comeback is he will be making up for some lost time and it will come at a price. He has already forfeited his 130lb title because he plans on moving up in weight, but he still isn’t exactly sure where he wants to fight. Not fighting is making it difficult for him to make the decision.
Mikey has stated that he will probably fight a catch weight bout somewhere between 135-140 in an attempt to make his transition to junior welterweight (a weight class filled with big money fights) easier, but if he finds it necessary to make a lightweight run in order to acclimate himself to 140 then it will be even longer before we see him in a meaningful fight (he’s not going to fight Terrance Crawford, I guarantee it).
The good news is Mikey is young and comes from a boxing family. This will make things easier for him and the experience between the generations of fighters in his family tree will act as an important support system in the interim.
Robert is clearly anxious to get Mikey back into action and he believes the time is coming sooner rather than later.
“Mikey is young and I think Mikey could come back strong, even stronger than ever. We’re trying to work things out and hopefully we’ll have something soon.”
