Mikey Garcia fought and beat Jessie Vargas in Frisco, Texas on February 29, 2020. It had been almost a year since he suffered the first loss of his professional boxing career against undefeated Welterweight Champion Errol Spence Jr. in Arlington, Texas on March 16th of 2019. Mikey started slow in the first 3 rounds versus Jessie but by the 5th Round Mikey dropped Jessie and took control of the fight. The final scores by the judges were 114-113, 116-111 and 116-111.
Some big distinct changes exist in the production between Mikey's fights with Errol and with Jessie. The most visable difference between the two fights is how they were televised. Mikey vs Errol was on PPV Fox while Mikey vs Jessie Vargas was on the DAZN network. In the fight versus Spence the event was Promoted by Tom Brown’s TGB Promotions and Richard Schaefer’s Ringstar Sports, it was held at the NFL’s Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, TX. The WBC and IBF World Championship Welterweight titles were on the line. The match between Mikey vs Jessie was also held in Texas but this time at the Dallas Cowboys practice facility in Frisco, Texas. This time the bout and event was promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
There was some contrast in the locker rooms between both bouts. Robert Garcia, Mikey’s brother and head trainer shared via EsNews that many of Mikey’s family and friends were not allowed backstage in the locker room to visit Mikey before the fight versus Jessie. It is a tradition that goes back decades of high profile celebrities having access to the locker room and wishing the fighters good luck. Since Mikey’s return in 2016 after a 2 ½ year layoff, his 5 return fights were all organized by Boxing Advisor Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) platform. Mikey’s team and family seemed to have built a level of comfort with Al Haymon’s operations team allowing accessibility to Mikey in the locker room. The Garcia Family has become a major powerhouse in sport of Boxing in the last twenty years, crowning a total of 13 World Champions.
During the preparation for the fight versus Errol Spence there were many hours of production spent by the Fox network with Mikey Garcia and Errol Spence Jr. For what seemed like 30 days, Fox network crews followed Mikey between his ranch style home in Redlands, CA and the boxing gym in Riverside, CA. Team Mikey Garcia spent hours leading up to the fight shooting for a mini documentary series done by the Fox network. On top of that the team was also involved in the traditional commercials shoots, press conferences and open workout media shoots. The marketing for the fight for Jessie Vargas also included press conference tours and some production but overall the production seemed a lot less crowded in comparison to Mikey’s previous commitment.
To start training for Errol Spence Mikey Garcia spent four weeks in San Carlos, CA at Victor Conte’s SNAC training facility where he was guided by Remi Korchemy and other SNAC team members to prepare him for his March fight. Joining him from the boxing training team was his nephew Robert “Pita” Garcia Jr. and long time friend Rafael “Rafa” Lopez. There they utilized some of the most current technology in sports technology to well prepare Mikey. In contrast, the preparation for Jessie Vargas Team Mikey Garcia stayed locally in his ranch house in Riverside, CA where he was guided by Charles Trembley of Strike Force Athletics and other Strength and Conditioning coaches to prepare him for optimum performance at the welterweight division. It’s important to note that a different dietician was brought into camp to help Mikey prepare for the Jessie Vargas bout.
In preparation for the Southpaw Errol Spence, Mikey Garcia used many in-house RGBA fighters like Southpaw Super Lightweight John Bauza, Middleweight Southpaw Esquiva Falcao, Southpaw Super Lightweight Josue Vargas and Super Lightweight Alfredo Escarcega. In contrast in preparation for Orthodox (Right handed) Jessie Vargas, Mikey used in house stablemates like Unified Super Lightweight Champion Jose Ramirez, Welterweight Jose “Josesito” Lopez, Welterweight Manny “Baby” Rodriguez of Indio, Olympian Middleweight Misael “El Chino” Rodriguez and Middleweight Leo Ruiz. Robert shared in the post fight press conference that Mikey sparred over 100 rounds of preparation for Jessie Vargas. Traditionally Team RGBA sparring days are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Mikey and Robert have created their own promotional company holding 6 professional boxing shows in the year 2019. Three events were held at the Club Center Events in San Bernardino, CA and three others at the Southern Junction Night Club in Dallas, TX. It has become a regular custom for Garcia Promotions to hold a professional boxing show a day prior to Mikey’s fight dates in Texas. On Friday March 15, 2019 Garcia Promotions held an event at the Southern Junction Night Club in Dallas, TX. where local fighters with ties to the Team RGBA showcased their boxing skills. This particular night Dallas’ very own Alejandro “Porkchop” Guerrero, Angel Alejandro and Arnold Alejandro showcased their skills in the ring. Mikey was able to attend the show and interact with fighters and fans. In contrast the show on Friday February 28, 2020 at the same location, Mikey under the direction of his father, Eduardo Garcia and Robert Garcia, didn’t attend the event in order to rest for the fight the next day. The team strategically asked Mikey to scale back on the exposure to fans, not only on the night prior to the fight but also at family events held back at home in Oxnard, CA.
On March 16, 2019 the event promoted by TGB Promotions and RingStar Sports held a total of 17 fights where the February 29, 2020 card promoted by Matchroom Boxing held a significantly smaller amount of fights, which was 9 total bouts. On the undercard of March 16, 2019 Team RGBA showcased a total of 5 fighters from the stable, where on the February 29, 2020 event only 3 stablemates fought on the undercard. This might have played a role in the level of stress put on Trainer Robert Garcia and Team RGBA to help fighters from the stable prepare for their bout. Having several fighters prepped with hands wrapped and warmed up for their fights can get complicated especially when time slots can change at any given moment to help television production.
On the Mikey’s fight versus Spence several fighters from the stable had the opportunity to display their skills including Moreno Valley’s Featherweight Louie Coria, Oklahoma City’s Bantamweight Aaron Morales, San Antonio’s Flyweight Robert “Biggie” Rodrguez, San Antonio’s Mini Flyweight Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and Mexico’s Olympian Super Lightweight Lindolfo Delgado.
On the much lighter schedule February 29, 2020 the team only needed to prepare San Bernardino’s Middleweight Leo Ruiz, Las Vegas’ Middleweight Alexis “El Macizo” Espino and San Antonio’s Mini Flyweight Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.
Just like fighters need to make adjustments in the ring in order to put themselves in the best position to win the fight, Team Mikey Garcia clearly made some significant changes outside the ring in order to win the fight versus Jessie Vargas.
Mikey Garcia was on a short list of fighters negotiating with Manny Pacquiao’s team of managers and advisors for Pacquiao’s next bout. First Lightweight Ryan Garcia came out with a video on social media saying they were close to getting a fight done, then Mikey announced he was in contact with Pacquiao’s team working on a deal. Bob Arum even said publicly that he was close to finalizing a deal between Terence “Bud” Crawford and Manny Pacquiao in the Middle East but that the pandemic caused the deal to fall apart. Ultimately it was Yordenis Ugas that fought Pacquiao after Eroll Spence of Dallas, Texas suffered an eye injury that removed him from the bout.
You can find me on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
Thank you for reading, Sonteo Media.
Comments