The “daring to be great” phrase gets thrown around as freely as fighters whaling on a heavy bag while training.
Plenty say it, but only some live it. Sometimes, it’s boxing’s politics that prevent them from living it. Other times, their words proved to be merely lip service for clout, as they ultimately go in a different direction. And then there’s those who walk it like they talk it.
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Mikey Garcia falls into the latter category. The 31-year-old had the WBC and IBF lightweight championships and could have opted to fight Richard Commey, his mandatory challenger for the IBF strap, or perhaps pursue a showdown with the division’s other unified ruler, Vasiliy Lomachenko, to declare an undisputed king at 135 pounds. He did neither.
Instead, he vacated the IBF title, which Commey went on to claim earlier this month, and moved up two weight classes to challenge IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, on March 16.
If that’s not the living embodiment of “daring to be great,” then what is? While speaking with Sporting News earlier in the week, Garcia explained why this was the right decision at the right time.
“I’ve already accomplished a lot, I’ve already been champion in four divisions. I’m looking for the biggest challenges, I’m looking for the biggest fights … I’m looking for greatness and this is a fight that offers that,” Garcia told SN. “If I take on a former champion or just an up-and-coming contender like that, sometimes you don’t get the credit you deserve or enough legacy toward that. But taking on this fight definitely does that.
“Fighting another undefeated champion in a different weight class, it just has all the ingredients to give me the respect, give me the credit, give me everything,” he continued, “… and build to my legacy and that’s what I really want.”
Getting that done with an upset victory wouldn’t just build toward his legacy — it’d catapult him to a surefire Hall of Famer. But Garcia will be hard-pressed to do so, considering Spence is the naturally bigger, stronger fighter and one who is comfortable presiding at 147 pounds, while the former is new to the weight and fighting in unchartered territory. Yet, he insists that “size and strength” are the only areas he’ll be sacrificing in just over two weeks.
“Except for the size and strength that he naturally holds over me, I think I’m better than him in every other boxing category: timing, speed, footwork, reflexes, defense,” Garcia said. “I think I’m better than him in all and that’s what going to help me win my fight against him March 16.”
Early into the promotion for this fight, Garcia saying he sees something in Spence’s fight game that will be an opening to his victory became a theme for this bout. Well, while speaking with SN, he attempted to clarify that statement.
“It’s not so much that I see something in Spence or see holes in his game. It’s really what you guys don’t see in me, what the media hasn’t seen in me, what the boxing critics haven’t seen in me, Mikey Garcia,” he clarified. “I’m much more than what you’ve seen. I need a challenge like this to show you everything that I have.”
Would a hard-fought scrap against Commey or a showdown with Lomachenko not given Garcia to stage to showcase everything that he has? If Loma is indeed the pound-for-pound best, Garcia beating him would seemingly boost his career into a different stratosphere. So, why Spence, why now?
Perhaps, Garcia, still the current WBC lightweight titleholder, is banking on Loma still being a unified champion, so if he loses to Spence, he could eventually cement a mega clash with the Ukrainian fighter, anyway, and face Commey to take back his IBF title.
Garcia (39-0, 30 KOs) could get annihilated by Spence (24-0, 21 KOs), which would probably pave the way for many critics to say that the Mexican fighter was simply in over his head. Or, he could fight a game fight and come up short against the 29-year-old Spence — an outcome that would make the boxing community still put respect on Garcia’s name. Either way, boxing fans and critics alike would give him the pass to drop back down to his wheelhouse of 135 pounds. In fact, Lomachenko has predicted that Garcia will lose to Spence, adding that he’ll “wait” for Mikey, while inviting him to have their proper lightweight fight later in the year.
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But what if Garcia can somehow manage to pull off the upset? And not just eke it out, but score it rather convincingly?
“It’s going to be one of those nights when ‘Remember when …’” Garcia vows.
“‘Remember when Mikey beat Spence?’” he adds, before running off other historic nights in boxing, where the fighter smaller in stature had his hand raised.
“‘Remember when Duran beat Sugar Ray?’”
“’Remember when Pacquiao beat De La Hoya?’”
“It’s going to be historic. I know that’s what it’s going to be because I know what I’m capable of.”
Well, that’s what “daring to be great” is all about, right? Whether it pays off remains to be seen.
