Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
On Saturday, November 9th in Corpus Cristi, Texas, Mikey Garcia will move up one weight division to challenge WBO Super Featherweight Champion Roman “Rocky” Martinez.
Garcia (32-0, 27 KOs) is coming off a bittersweet fourth-round KO winning performance against Juan Manuel Lopez.
Even though he looked very impressive, Garcia came into the bout two pounds over the Featherweight limit of 126 pounds and lost his WBO and THE RING Featherweight belts on the scales.
Martinez (27-1, 16 KOs), who was present ringside for the Lopez demolition job, is coming off two disputed victories against Diego Magdaleno and Juan Carlos Burgos.
Martinez won the vacant WBO 130-pound title against Miguel Beltran Jr and is coming into this fight with more than a chip on his shoulder, after many consider his two title defending victories as tainted and controversial decisions that went in his favor.
Controversial or not, he is the reigning, defending champion, fighting against a star in the making in Garcia; who many consider the favorite in this bout.
Garcia, a counter-puncher with a very high ring IQ and power to claim one of the highest KO ratio’s in the sport, is the polar opposite in a stylistic sense to Martinez’s tough boxer-puncher style.
Martinez tends to start slow and turns it on during the middle rounds, with his great stamina and conditioning, to wear down his opponents to a late TKO or decision.
Garcia, also a slow starter, picks his spots, but when he does they are thunderous. Garcia continues to pick apart his opposition throughout the fight with an occasional knockdown or two to win in easy fashion.
In this matchup, expect to see Garcia winning a belt in his second weight class in brutal fashion. There is just no way Garcia’s far more superior boxing skills and abilities don’t outwork, outclass, and demolish Martinez to a TKO victory in the late rounds.
