Mikey Garcia Updates Social Media Status to Reflect Retirement
Has four-division world champion Mikey Garcia (40-2, 30 KOs) decided to hang up the gloves for good? Based on his updated social media page, the four-division world champion appears to be calling it a day and is done with the sport. The 34-year-old has updated his page with the words “retired world champion” in his profile description.
This appears to be Garcia’s unique way of announcing his retirement.
HIGHS AND LOWS
Garcia turned pro in 2006 and quickly established himself as one of the best prospects in the sport. He won his first world title in January 2013, defeating Orlando Salido to capture the WBO featherweight strap. However, he lost the title after missing weight for what would’ve been his first defense against Juan Manuel Lopez.
Deciding to move up to 130 pounds, he knocked out Roman Martinez to win the WBO junior lightweight belt in November 2013. But after making one defense of that title, he was out of the ring for two years due to a dispute with then-promoter Top Rank.
He returned to the ring in July 2016 and quickly regained his top form. Garcia obliterated Dejan Zlaticanin to win the WBC lightweight title in January 2017. A win over IBF 140-pound champ Sergey Lipinets in March 2018 resulted in Garcia winning a world title in a fourth-weight class. He followed that up with a return to 135, defeating then-IBF champ Robert Easter in July 2018 to become a unified world lightweight champion.
2019 saw Garcia attempt to test himself even further. In March of that year, the resident of Moreno Valley, California, moved up two weight divisions to face IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. Turns out, he bit off more than he could chew as Spence soundly beat him by unanimous decision.
From that point on, Garcia never seemed the same. He defeated Jesse Vargas by unanimous decision in February of 2020, but pundits were not overly impressed with his performance. That was followed by an upset loss to world-ranked Sandor Martin in October of 2021, a fight in which Garcia looked listless.
DID MIKEY GARCIA REACH HIS FULL POTENTIAL?
At his best, Garcia was a dynamic boxer-puncher who could produce spectacular performances in the ring. But his career was also defined by missed opportunities. Fans clamored for a fight between him and three-division champion Vasyl Lomachenko at 135, but the bout never materialized. There were also talks with the future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao. However, Pacquiao chose to instead face WBA welterweight champ Yordenis Ugas.
Then there was the question of Garcia’s passion. Some pundits wondered aloud if he truly had the heart of a fighter. Garcia openly talked about his fondness for law enforcement and his desire to become a cop. Another critique is Garcia constantly rising in weight. From 126-135, he was quick and showed one-punch power. That was not the case at 140 and 147. The fact that he could not keep his weight down on a consistent basis speaks to a lack of discipline.
It very much looks like Garcia is done for good with The Sweet Science. We at 3Kings Boxing wish him the best in his future endeavors.
Reading Time: 3 minutes
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
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