Garcia ready to stand tall
The long-standing boxing axiom goes that a good big ’un will always beat a good little ’un.
But four-division world champion Mikey Garcia will be out to disprove that belief when he meets coming superstar Errol Spence in a major showdown in Texas this weekend – live on SuperSport 5 from 3am on Sunday.
Spence is a natural welterweight, big and strong, and one of a handful of fighters looking to assume the throne of one-time king of boxing, Floyd Mayweather. He is fast, slick and strong, a southpaw banger who has never come close to defeat in assembling a flawless 24-0 record.
Garcia is a ring technician of the highest order, having mixed in elite company since winning his first major championship six years ago. Unbeaten in 39 bouts, he’s fought mainly at lightweight in recent years and is taking a calculated risk challenging a fighter as big and as accomplished as Spence.
Only two featherweight champions have successfully moved up and become welterweight champions – Henry Armstrong and Manny Pacquiao.
There are, however, encouraging precedents for such risk-taking. Roy Jones jnr famously took on heavyweight John Ruiz and outboxed him; 11 years ago Manny Pacquiao moved up two divisions to stop Oscar De La Hoya at welterweight; and, Sugar Ray Leonard bulked up to outhustle Marvin Hagler in their fight for the ages in 1987.
But David doesn’t always slay Goliath, with several smaller boxers suffering defeats at the fists of bigger men: Bob Foster against Muhammad Ali, Felix Trinidad against Bernard Hopkins and Roberto Duran against Tommy Hearns being the most notable examples.
“A lot of people underestimate the power when they face me. They don’t see my physical size as a threat. But you know they feel the power once we’re
A lot of people underestimate the power when they face me. They don’t see my physical size
in the ring and definitely change their minds,” said Garcia. “[I wanted to fight Spence] because he’s the best right now in the division. I want to make a statement. I want to make a mark, and you know I have to do that against the best.”
Spence, the betting favourite, is no less confident: “This is definitely one of those crossover fights for me. Garcia is the biggest name to date that I’m fighting on American soil. I’m going to focus on my talent. If I can roll through him, then I’ll show my killer instinct and try to get him out of there. I’m going to use my ability to break him down.”