Mikey Garcia became the 10th lightweight champion to unify the division with a unanimous decision against Robert Easter Jr on Saturday night, producing an emphatic performance. Garcia started slowly, but gradually found his rhythm and completely dominated the second-half of the fight, and once again showcased why he’s one of the most skilled boxers on the planet.
All three judges scored the fight in favour of Garcia, 118-109, 117-110, 116-111, in an exciting fight. The four-division world champion Garcia (39-0, 30 KOs) who was fighting in his native Southern California for the first time in seven years, kept his 135-pound WBC title whilst claiming Easter’s IBF Lightweight belt in the process.
Garcia’s fundamentally sound approach and heavy hands proved to be too much for Easter on the night. Easter used his length and his reach to his advantage and enjoyed early success behind his jab, trying to keep Garcia at range.
However, he had issues landing power shots and diversifying his attack. Meanwhile, Garcia took a patient approach in breaking down his opponent rather than throwing an anticipated barrage of punches.
In the third round, Garcia scored a knockdown with a right cross and short left hook. By the midway stage is was clear Easter was starting to deteriorate and by the ninth round he look a beaten man barely surviving. He showed courage trying to compete but the writing was on the wall as the fight went on and it became clear Garcia was on a different level to him.
After the fight, Garcia expressed his desire to go up 12 pounds to take on Errol Spence Jr. for the welterweight title. Garcia said, “I believe there is a high chance that could be the next big fight.” Spence was in attendance and shown a number of times during the fight. Both men are under the same network banner, thus the normal impediments to signing a high-level bout don’t figure to be in place.
Garcia: I want Spence Jr
Spence Jr has mutual interest in making the fight happen. However, Garcia would be at a huge physical disadvantage, but it would be a big match up between two rising stars.
Overall, it was a great fight, Garcia dominated the fight throughout, proving to be too strong for Easter. It will be interesting to see if the Garcia-Spence Jr fight will get made in the near future.
Fight fans what are your thoughts, let us know in the comment section.
