Mikey Garcia Silences The Critics! Or…Does He? Day After Analysis Of Garcia W Over Vargas
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Michael Woods
Jessie Vargas started strong, and you started thinking, hmmm, maybe Errol Spence extracted a heaping helping out of Mikey Garcia when those two battled last year, and Vargas is going to reap the dividends. But, then you remembered, ahhhh, right, Mikey is a slow starter, because he got his four rounds of data and his accurate launches and smart angle obtainment kicked in. Garcia, now 40-1 with 30 Kos, took over in the second half to the point that he impressed two of the three judges mightily and the the third one enough to snag a UD12.
Garcia, did he silence all the critics? or do you still think he's not suited to beat A grade foes at 147? (Photos by Amanda Westcott)
By scores of 116-111, 116-111, 114-113 at the Ford Center at the Star, in Frisco, Texas, Garcia may have done enough to land himself a fight with Manny Pacquiao this summer. Or, actually, that may be immaterial, that is/was probably the plan, unless Vargas sprung the considerable upset, and gave Garcia his second loss in a row. But he didn't, because although Spence owned the ex 126-130-135 ace on March 16, 2019, Mikey still has the arsenal to handle Vargas level foes. Which Pacquiao isn't, even at 41 (turns 42 Dec. 17), which is why we refer back to the headline.
I'm of the mind, and I'm not near alone, in thinking that low-volume Garcia is going to lose to Manny 8-4 if and when they scrap. But, of course, I concede, what it might look like on paper on how it looks in a ring can be night and day, Jekyll and Hyde. My friend David Avila, a wise watcher of action, and interpreter of style matchups, notes that Mikey's style might be better suited for Manny than I might think.
Me, I wasn't silenced, I'm with the people who would rather Garcia test a young gun, a Josh Taylor, rather than get inserted into another mega money fight, as the over hyped B+ side versus a busier and stronger A sider.
Here is the release the DAZN crew sent out after the night of fights in Texas:
FRISCO, Texas, Feb. 29, 2020: In the main event of a thrilling Matchroom Boxing USA fight card live on DAZN and in front of 11,019 passionate fans at the Dallas Cowboys headquarters, Mikey Garcia(40-1, 30 KOs) outlasted Jessie Vargas(29-3-2, 11 KOs) in an action-packed welterweight showdown on Saturday night. Vargas effectively used his jab throughout the fight, but Garcia ultimately wore him down with brutal right hands and even sent Vargas to the canvas in the fifth round.
The four-division world champion earned a unanimous decision victory to prove his doubters wrong as he continues his pursuit to dominate the welterweight ranks.
Earlier in the evening, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez(49-2, 41 KOs) stamped himself once again as the king of the super flyweight division with a technical knockout victory over Khalid Yafai(26-1, 15 KOs) to become the new WBA World Super Flyweight Titlist.
Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar(16-1, 12 KOs) retained his WBC World Flyweight Title after a 12-round war with Jay Harris (17-1, 9 KOs) who hit the canvas once due to a brutal body shot in the tenth round, and Joseph Parker(27-2, 21 KOs) stopped Shawndell Winters(13-3, 12 KOs) in the fifth-round of their heavyweight bout.
Mikey Garcia
“I feel very happy to be back and excited to be here. I had to make adjustments to his reach and natural size. As the fight went on I started to hurt him, closing the gap, finding my rhythm, and timing. In the end it worked out very well.
“I carried the weight a little better. I felt better. I had my feet when I had to. He’s a big man. I could feel the size difference, but my talent overcame that. I started to hurt him as the rounds went by. I landed a right hand where he went down. I hurt him again and got my rhythm, speed and power. It was perfect and did it against a bigger guy.
“I think I’m ready to get back in with the best. I want Manny Pacquiao or a rematch with Errol Spence. I’m better at this weight class. This is a great option to continue at 147.”
Jessie Vargas
“I got a little confident. In the fourth I thought I hurt Mikey. I lightened up but Mikey fought a great fight. I give him credit and don’t take anything from it. It was a learning experience for me, entertaining fight for the fans in Frisco! I’d like a rematch, but it think it was close. The knockdown made a difference. I was overconfident with his power, he has a good pop. I didn’t follow guidelines exactly but that’s on me. I’m a little down cause I didn’t get the victory.
“No complaints, we will talk to my team. We will see what’s next, but I would like to a rematch. I think he’s a good fight, he performed well today. I underestimated his power. He could matchup with the top welterweights. I fought my heart out, felt like it was closer than the judges scored it. Like I said, I’d like a rematch.”
Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez
“I have God’s strength, and God gave me this title back. Everyone has the same blessing I got tonight. I always ask God for a blessing. Everything I have comes from God. All the young kids, I tell them to fight for their dream. God has dreams for these young kids.
“When I lost yes, but thank God I have a good team around me that brought me back. I thank Mr. Honda, Eddie Hearn and DAZN. They gave me the opportunity to once again become a world champion.
“He did surprise me that he wanted to fight inside, but I was ready to go. I want to try and unify some titles. That’s my dream.”
Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar
“It was a tough battle, but I plan to defend my title many times. There’s no fear here. No excuses. I’ll defend this title many times. This is for Mexico!
“Congratulation to Jay Harris, he’s a very strong fighter. That is why he was undefeated. I want to defend my title anywhere. Thank you to Eddie Hearn for giving me a great camp. Like I said anytime, anywhere.”
Joseph Parker
“A win is a win. Good to get a win. I’m going to take the win, celebrate, and leave it up to my team and Eddie to figure out what’s next. I just have to be patient, slow down my punches, and make them more meaningful. No excuses, I was training hard, and just excited to be back in the ring.
“I want to relax and leave it to Eddie Hearn to discuss with my team. I want to keep busy and get two more fights this year and finish up with a bang. I’d like to fight Chisora because I wanted to reschedule, and I want Dillian Whyte again – the top five and top 10 in the world.”
12-Round WBA Super Flyweight Title Bout @ 115 lbs.
Roman Gonzalez (49-2, 41 KOs) defeated Khalid Yafai (26-1, 15 KOs) by TKO at :25 of Round 9
12-Round WBA World Flyweight Title Bout @ 112 lbs.
Julio Cesar Martinez Aguilar (16-1, 12 KOs) defeated Jay Harris (17-1, 9 KOs) by unanimous decision
(118-109, 116-111, 115-112)
10-Round Heavyweight Bout
Joseph Parker (27-2, 21 KOs) defeated Shawndell Winters (13-3, 12 KOs) by TKO at 2:40 of Round 5
10-Round Super Welterweight Bout @ 154 lbs.
Israil Madrimov (5-0, 5 KOs) defeated Charlie Navarro (29-10, 22 KOs) by TKO at 2:24 of Round 6
Boxing on DAZN returns at The Forum in California when Vergil Ortiz Jr. returns to the ring in a battle against veteran Samuel Vargas on Saturday, March 28.
Founder/editor Michael Woods got addicted to boxing in 1990, when Buster Douglas shocked the world with his demolition of the then-impregnable Mike Tyson.
The Brooklyn-based journalist has covered the sport since for ESPN The Magazine, ESPN.com, Bad Left Hook and RING. His journalism career started with NY Newsday in 1999.
Michael Woods is also an accomplished blow by blow and color man, having done work for Top Rank, DiBella Entertainment, EPIX, and for Facebook Fightnight Live, since 2017.
