The last time Mikey Garcia fought in New York, in October 2011, he was known as a solid prospect, and the little brother of name trainer Robert Garcia, who cornered Nonito Donaire, Brandon Rios and Antonio Margarito.
Robert held the IBF super feather crown in 1998 and 1999, was no slouch as a hitter, but his little bro might be on track to surpass him. He beat Juan Carlos Martinez (TKO4) at the MSG Theater on a Top Rank card topped by Donaire.
Mikey Garcia, an Oxnard, Calif., resident, is coming back to the East Coast on Feb. 19, when he will take on Orlando Salido, the WBO featherweight champion, at the MSG Theater. Salido is no slouch; in fact, he’s a hard man, of body and will, and Garcia can’t have an off night and beat him.
The 25 year-old Garcia seems to be pumped to make the trek to NYC to try and wrest the crown from the Mexican fighter.
“I love going to New York for this fight,” Garcia said. “New York has always been a great fight town and I had a great experience there when I fought there last year. It’s a great place to fight and a great place to win my first world championship.” Just as his brother was as a fighter and conducts himself as one of the handful of best known tutors in the sport, Garcia isn’t prone to getting himself jazzed with trash talk.
“Orlando Salido is the best featherweight champion in the world and he has earned the right to be called that,” he said. “He is very strong and very experienced and this will be the toughest test of my career, but I am ready for it.”
I’m inclined to agree; Salido (39-11-2) is 32, but has been a pro since 1996, and so his tires are a little balder. The 30-0 Garcia doesn’t wow you out of the box, as he’s a methodical worker who takes a couple rounds to scout his foe and look for holes, but by round four, he should begin to exert his youthful vigor over Salido, en route to a victory.
