Left-Hook Lounge: Mikey Garcia, Malignaggi/Broner, & A Look at Puerto Rico’s Struggling Talent

lopez543Cristian G. (Coral Gables, FL): Can you give your thoughts on Mikey Garcia’s performance and discuss whether or not you think it’s time for us to start putting Mikey Garcia in the P4P debate?

Vivek W. (ESB): I think Garcia has consistently given us the same product, time and time again. He’s not fundamental in the sense of the Mayweather’s, Ward’s, etc, of the world; but he has totally given life to the notion that Mexican warriors, under the right tutelage, are far better than the stalk-til-they-can’t-walk variety. He has some of the best shot selection I’ve seen anywhere in the sport. He places his punches properly, and they all come with vicious intentions. I absolutely love what I see, and as a future star of the sport, I love having him on the scene, because you don’t have to guess what you’re gonna get when the bell rings.

read more

Mikey Garcia could face Rocky Martinez next

garcia55Mikey Garcia’s promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank says he’s thinking about maybe putting him in with WBO super featherweight champion Roman “Rocky” Martinez (27-1-2, 16 KO’s) in what would be Mikey’s first fight at 130 lbs. It’s a good fight for Arum because it’s a fight that he can sell due to Martinez having a large Puerto Rican fan base and Mikey having a large and still growing Mexican fan base. It’s a good fight for that reason, but it’s not the best fight Arum could make as far as a competitive match-up because Martinez is barely hanging onto his WBO title as it is against the guys he’s been facing.

Arum said in an interview with esnewsreporting.com “I think another Puerto Rican, maybe Rocky Martinez.”

read more

Rafael: Juanma is shot now; he’s a shell

lopez443Dan Rafael of ESPN thinks former two division world champion Juan Manuel Lopez (33-3, 30 KO’s) is over-the-hill and not the same fighter he once was following his 4th round TKO loss to Mikey Garcia (32-0, 27 KO’s) last Saturday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Juanma was knocked down two times in the process of getting stopped by the 25-year-old Mikey.

Rafael said on his twitter “Juanma has been as exciting as anyone in recent years, but the wars took their toll. He’s all shot now. That is obvious. He’s a shell…amazing that at one time Lopez-Gamboa was really a hot fight, until [Bob] Arum over-marinated it.”

read more

Mikey Garcia destroys Lopez; Crawford stops Sanabria

Mikey Garcia (32-0, 27 KO’s) put on a jabbing and counter-punching clinic in destroying a once good fighter Juan Manuel Lopez (33-3, 30 KO’s) by a 4th round TKO tonight at the American Airlines Center, in Dallas, Texas, USA. Mikey, 25, knocked Juanma down twice in the fight, once in the 2nd from a right hand, and a final time in the 4th with a tremendous left hook. Official time of stoppage was 1:35.

read more

Garcia vs. Lopez: Engaging, Explosive, or at the very least Entertaining

YouTube video
Mikey Garcia made a statement in his last fight when he disarmed tough as nails pressure fighter Orlando Salido from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City on January 19th. The same Orlando Salido that took Juan Manuel Lopez’s “0” in a battle of Mexico vs. Puerto Rico in 2011 and followed that performance up just short of 11 months later with another TKO victory. Which Juanma will show up to the ring this Saturday for his fight versus unbeaten Mikey Garcia at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas?

Bob Arum had to have a tear in his eye the night of April 16th 2011. One of his prized pupils from Puerto Rico had his boxing heart ripped out of his chest, in what was a nightmare scenario to any Puerto Rican boxing fan, by the hands of a Mexican fighter. Yeah Bob Arum made money that night and the fight set up a rematch that also filled the Top Rank coffers. Fight fans were happy with the war that added to yet another classic installment to the Puerto Rico vs. Mexico rivalry. But deep down inside Arum had to feel the pain Lopez felt in his boxing soul, only it wasn’t his soul but a hole he felt in his deep pockets considering what was at stake that night.

read more

Mikey Garcia vs. Juan Manuel Lopez this Saturday, June 15th in Dallas, Texas

lopez-marquez5Former two division world champion Juan Manuel Lopez (33-2, 30 KO’s) could be the sacrificial lamb for WBO featherweight champion Mikey Garcia (31-0, 26 KO’s) to slaughter this Saturday, June 15th at the American Airlines Center, in Dallas, Texas, USA.

Although anything is possible for this fight, it just looks like Juanma will be the lamb being brought into slaughter for the young, 25-year-old Mikey to tear apart to add a name to his resume. Lopez isn’t that much older than Mikey at 29, but he’s had a lot of hard fights and he’s lost two out of his last five fights.

read more

Mikey Garcia / Juanma Lopez Conf Call Transcript

16 abr 2013 LLEGAN A MEXICO JUANMA LOPEZ - JONATHAN BOMBA GONZALEZ - MC JOE ARROYO 04FRED STERNBURG: Welcome everyone. We have got two very hot fighters from a very hot division getting ready to take each other on in world championship fight on Saturday, June 15, at the American Airlines Center® in Dallas. It will be televised live on HBO® at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT. The HBO Boxing After Dark telecast will open with a ten-round bout between Top-10 contenders Terence Crawford and Alejandro Sanabria Jr. for the vacant NABO lightweight title. If it is two things Mikey Garcia and Juanma Lopez know, it is how to win and how to win by knockout.

BOB ARUM: We are delighted to bring to Dallas a card as outstanding as this card. A great featherweight championship fight between two very popular fighters – the undefeated defending champion Mikey Garcia from Oxnard, California, and the “Pride of Puerto Rico” and former two-division world champion Juanma Lopez.

read more

Salido suffers broken orbital bone in loss to Garcia

By Bill Phanco: Orlando Salido may have been fighting with right broken orbital bone from the 1st round in his 8th round technical decision loss to Mikey Garcia last Saturday night. Salido’s manager Sean Gibbons has confirmed with espn that Salido broke his orbital bone in the fight. The fight was stopped after the 8th round because Garcia broke his nose from an accidental head-clash with Salido during the 8th. The judges gave Garcia the victory by the scores 79-70, 79-69 and 79-69.

read more

Mikey Garcia still has a lot of questions that need to be answered

Barros media day_121107_002aBy Bill Phanco: If you looked at Mikey Garcia’s 8th round technical decision win over WBO featherweight champion Orlando Salido last Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, you might have focused mainly on how Garcia was able to hurt Salido on a number of occasions while knocking him down four times in the early going. However, if you paid close attention to how Garcia was starting to slow down in the 7th and 8th rounds and losing his power, you’ll have noticed that Garcia might be showing the hints of problems that other fighters can take advantage of in the future.

The 8th round was especially significant because you saw Garcia actually looking worried as he was standing against and taking big shots from Salido. Garcia was no longer able to hurt Salido with his single power shots, and he wasn’t able to stop Salido’s attacks by pushing his head away like he’d done in the earlier rounds. Garcia had been warned about the pushing of Salido but he had continued to use this move with great effectiveness to blunt many of Salido’s attacks. But by the 7th and 8th, Salido was able to duck under Garcia’s attempts at pushing him to land solid shots.

read more

Mikey Garcia’s broken schnoz – Critics honking about stoppage!

garcia324By Paul Strauss: Almost before the well-publicized results and televised replay of Miguel Angel “Mikey” Garcia vs Orlando “Siri” Salido fight were made, the discordant honking sounds of the carping, nitpicking twerps surfaced. It permeates the air with the old nonsensical bull shit about quitting. It’s the old testosterone crapola about “going to war” or “he’ll have to kill me” foolishness. The thoroughly whipped Salido had nothing left but to throw in his, “My nose was broken too, but Mexicans don’t quit.”

Good for you Siri. However, if your nose was broken, it came from a punch. You had no choice but to continue, unless you wanted to be TKO’d. There’s no doubt about what caused Mikey’s rerouted smeller. It was a rapidly moving noggin thruster, thrown from the left hook side. There was no wham, only a crunching sound…….skull on bone and cartilage. Damn right is was an “Ouch”! More importantly, it was a foul; albeit accidental according to the generous Mikey.

Accordingly, why should Mikey fight on just to please the raucous, adrenaline high knuckleheads, who would much rather witness a barroom brawl than a picturesque demonstration of the sweet science?

read more