LOS ANGELES -- It will be a big night for the lightweight division on July 28 when Mikey Garcia (38-0, 30 KOs) meets Robert Easter Jr. (21-0, 14 KOs) on Showtime. Garcia, ranked fourth in Big Time Boxing's pound-for-pound rankings, will be bringing his WBC title to the ring while Easter will bring his IBF title in this highly anticipated unification fight.
Garcia is one of the most talented fighters in boxing, and fights out of the orthodox stance. What makes him so good is his ability to outbox most opponents, combined with impressive power. Garcia has a big right hand that he's very accurate with along with a good left hook and everything starts with his stinging jab. He is also skilled at landing uppercuts on opponents and his hand speed and timing can frustrate even the best. Garcia is also good defensively and has shown a strong chin against bigger opponents, especially in his most recent fight against puncher Sergey Lipinets.
The Southern California native with Mexican roots won his first title in the featherweight division. He then moved up in weight to capture a title in the junior lightweight division. After a two year long layoff Garcia returned to action to capture titles as a lightweight and most recently as a junior welterweight. Along the way he beat fighters like Orlando Salido, Juan Manuel Lopez, Roman 'Rocky' Martinez, and Adrien Broner among others. Instead of defending his IBF junior welterweight title Garcia opted to move back down to the lightweight division and put his WBC belt on the line against Easter.
Easter is also an orthodox fighter and he will have a massive height and reach advantage against Garcia. The Ohio native stands at 5-feet, 11-inches and has a reach of 76-inches compared to Garcia who stands at 5-feet, 6-inches, with a reach of just 68-inches. Easter has a good jab and a sharp left hook that can do damage. Along with those weapons Easter has also shown a solid right hand and he works well on the inside. He is not without flaws though, some of which include his lack of top tier power, the fact that he doesn't always use his height to his advantage, and his inability to properly cut off the ring.
This will be Easter's fourth defense of his IBF title, a title he's held since 2016. Easter has fought quality opposition in Richard Commey, Denis Shafikov, and Javier Fortuna but Garcia represents a massive step up in competition for him. It doesn't help matters that he arguably lost to Fortuna the last time he was in the ring. A win over a fighter like Garcia could take the 27-year-old Easter's career to new heights and would seriously raise his profile in the sport.
Easter could give Garcia plenty of problems if he uses his height properly. Too often Easter gets drawn into fighting in the pocket where his height and reach advantages don't necessarily help him. Easter should look to keep this fight in the center of the ring and keep Garcia at the end of his jab. If Easter can control the distance and make Garcia pay when he tries to get inside he should find plenty of success. Controlling anything against Garcia isn't an easy task though. Garcia has heavier hands and he is the much more accurate puncher. As long as he can slip Easter's jab he should be able to get inside and do damage against the bigger fighter.
PREDICTION: Robert Easter Jr.'s height and reach advantages will help him in this fight. They won't help him win but they will make things difficult enough for Mikey Garcia that he won't score the knockout. Instead Garcia will have to settle for getting the best of the action for most of the night on his way to a unanimous decision victory.
 |
| Garcia catching Sergey Lipinets with a hard right hand |
The Southern California native with Mexican roots won his first title in the featherweight division. He then moved up in weight to capture a title in the junior lightweight division. After a two year long layoff Garcia returned to action to capture titles as a lightweight and most recently as a junior welterweight. Along the way he beat fighters like Orlando Salido, Juan Manuel Lopez, Roman 'Rocky' Martinez, and Adrien Broner among others. Instead of defending his IBF junior welterweight title Garcia opted to move back down to the lightweight division and put his WBC belt on the line against Easter.
Easter is also an orthodox fighter and he will have a massive height and reach advantage against Garcia. The Ohio native stands at 5-feet, 11-inches and has a reach of 76-inches compared to Garcia who stands at 5-feet, 6-inches, with a reach of just 68-inches. Easter has a good jab and a sharp left hook that can do damage. Along with those weapons Easter has also shown a solid right hand and he works well on the inside. He is not without flaws though, some of which include his lack of top tier power, the fact that he doesn't always use his height to his advantage, and his inability to properly cut off the ring.
 |
| Easter catching Javier Fortuna with a clean uppercut |
Easter could give Garcia plenty of problems if he uses his height properly. Too often Easter gets drawn into fighting in the pocket where his height and reach advantages don't necessarily help him. Easter should look to keep this fight in the center of the ring and keep Garcia at the end of his jab. If Easter can control the distance and make Garcia pay when he tries to get inside he should find plenty of success. Controlling anything against Garcia isn't an easy task though. Garcia has heavier hands and he is the much more accurate puncher. As long as he can slip Easter's jab he should be able to get inside and do damage against the bigger fighter.
PREDICTION: Robert Easter Jr.'s height and reach advantages will help him in this fight. They won't help him win but they will make things difficult enough for Mikey Garcia that he won't score the knockout. Instead Garcia will have to settle for getting the best of the action for most of the night on his way to a unanimous decision victory.
Comments
Post a Comment