According to Top Rank promoter Bob Arum the unification fight between Mikey Garcia and Vasyl Lomachenko has lost value. His evaluation comes after the latter lost to IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr last Saturday night in Arlington, Texas.
Gracia’s effort against Spence disappointed Arum, who called Garcia a “mutt”. For most fans, it appeared that Mikey Garcia wasn’t willing to go all out to win the fight.
Garcia’s loss affected his popularity, which took a hit. Although fans know that losing to a bigger opponent like Spence is not a bad loss, it was the way he lost that’s put them off.
The loss of Mikey Garcia (39-1, 30 KOs) has dented fans’ interest in a Lomachenko vs. Garcia bout which would have been different had the fight taken place before Mikey’s loss to Spence. Mikey is still more popular than Lomachenko in the eyes of the U.S boxing fans. However, nobody can deny he looked sloppy in the ninth round when Spence started putting it on him.
Nonetheless, Arun still believes that Lomachenko vs Garcia can be good if it happens. He also believes that it would be better for Mikey to get some wins under his belt before fighting Lomachenko. Right now would not be a good time for Mikey and Lomachenko to fight each other.
Mikey Garcia, 31, didn’t show any variety in his punches. Moreover, he continued with old fashioned left-right combinations the entire fight. He hardly delivered any efficient punch output as compared to Spence who was throwing punches at his will. Garcia failed to go the way he needed and that lead to a low connect rate resulting in his defeat.
Arum didn’t rule out the Lomachenko vs Garcia fight all together and believes that it is still a workable option.
Lomachenko eyes Garcia’s belt so that he can unify the division but he is likely to fight Richard Commey. He will be defending his titles against Anthony Crolla this summer.
If he beats Commey, he’ll hold three of the four titles [IBF, WBA and WBO] at lightweight. The only belt that Lomachenko would need to win to become the unified lightweight champion would be the World Boxing Council strap held by Mikey.
Lomachenko (12-1, 9 KOs) is fighting next month to defend his WBA/WBO lightweight titles against former WBA 135 lb champion Anthony Crolla (34-6-3, 13 KOs) on April 12 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
