Promoter Eddie Hearn hopes to bring Mikey Garcia back on September 18th in a stay busy fight to give him a warm-up before matching him with Regis Prograis.
With September 18th only four weeks away, the chances of the 33-year-old Mikey Garcia fighting a decent opponent are slim and none for that date. This would be a ‘gimme’ for Mikey, which fans don’t want to see. Mikey doesn’t need another gimme at this point.
Look 42-year-old Manny Pacquiao, who hasn’t fought in two years since 2019. Pacquiao isn’t asking for a gimme opponent, and he’s nine years older than Mikey.
If Hearn sticks Mikey in the main event on DAZN on September 18th, the subscribers aren’t going to be too happy if his opponent is another fodder-level guy like in his previous fight against over-the-hill Jessie Vargas last year.
If Mikey is going to be fighting in a headliner on DAZN on September 18th, fans will want to see a quality fight. If not, Mikey might be better off being stowed away on the undercard somewhere, preferably lower like in the first fight.
Although the idea is for the former four-division champion Mikey to use the September 18th fight as a tune-up to prepare for Prograis, it’s not certain that the fight will occur.
The only fight that Mikey has shown interest in in the 1 1/2 years is Manny Pacquiao, so it’s unknown if he’ll want to pull the trigger on a dangerous fight against Prograis.
If Hearn gives Mikey another $7 million for his stay-busy fight like his previous one against Jessie Vargas, we could see him sit and wait for a big fight to fall into his lap.
Prograis reacts to Mikey Garcia backing out
“It’s very disappointing to hear that Mikey backed out. I was really looking forward to {it}. Since they mentioned his name I’ve been training even without a date. Mikey is a real guy and I never would’ve thought he would back out of this fight. It’s took me by surprise.”
The inactive Garcia (40-1, 30 KOs) hasn’t fought in the last 18 months since defeating Vargas in February 2020 on DAZN. Before fighting Vargas, Mikey had been inactive for 11 months since losing to Errol Spence Jr in March 2019.
Many boxing fans have a perception about Mikey that he’s just going through the motions at this point in his career, looking for paychecks, and not serious about wanting to capture world titles like normal fighters.
Mikey already lost to Errol Spence Jr badly in a fight where he arguably had no business being in the same ring with the welterweight champion. Since that fight, Mikey was given a big payday by Hearn to headline in a stay-busy fight against washed-up former two-division belt-holder Jessie Vargas last year.
Mikey didn’t look good in that fight, but it was supposed to be a match that showed boxing fans that he’s for real as a contender at 147.
The only problem is, Vargas was well past his prime, and he was never a great fighter, to begin with. If Hearn wanted Mikey to show that he’s a credible welterweight, he should have matched him against Jaron Ennis, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia, David Avanesyan, or Jaron Ennis.
“Sources: Mikey Garcia and Eddie Hearn are in discussions about a return to the ring on Sept. 18 on Mexican Independence Day Weekend. Garcia was in talks to fight Regis Prograis on DAZN but now trending toward a stay-busy fight before fighting Prograis,” said Mike Coppinger.