Mikey Garcia vs. Robert Easter Jr. Preview

Mikey Garcia and Robert Easter Jr. will square off in a title unification bout on July 28, 2018, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

The 30-year-old Garcia is the reigning WBC lightweight champion who boasts a record of 38-0 with 30 knockouts. His opponent is 27-year-old Robert Easter Jr., the reigning IBF lightweight title-holder. Like Garcia, Easter is unbeaten as a professional with a record of 21-0, including 14 knockouts.

Garcia is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters on the planet. The Oxnard, California native took a two and a half year break in 2014 due to a contract dispute with Top Rank Promotions but has not lost a step. Easter, meanwhile, was an alternate on the US men’s boxing team in the 2012 Olympics. He turned pro in 2012 and won a world title in his 18th professional bout.

Garcia and Easter are considered the #1 and #2 lightweights on the planet, respectively. The winner here could easily get the next crack at Vasyl Lomachenko, the high-profile Ukrainian fighter who recently won the WBA lightweight title over Jorge Linares.

A Surprise Change of Heart

Last March 10, Garcia defeated Sergey Lipinets to win the IBF and lineal junior welterweight titles. That victory made Garcia a four weight division champion and only the third fighter in boxing history, along with Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, to win world titles at junior lightweight, lightweight, and junior welterweight. But because Mikey was also the WBC lightweight champion at that time, he had to make a decision on which belt he wanted to keep.

Boxing’s sanctioning bodies do not allow fighters to hold onto two titles in different weight classes. After beating Lipinets, the IBF gave Garcia 10 days to decide. The Oxnard fighter notified the IBF in late March that he intended to keep their junior welterweight belt. Upon receiving Garcia’s letter, the IBF immediately ordered a mandatory title defense against the IBF’s mandatory challenger Ivan Baranchyk of Russia and required that the negotiations be completed by April 22 or else the IBF would order a purse bid.

At about the same time, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman announced that Garcia would not be stripped of his WBC lightweight title because he was going to defend it next. In what came as a surprise, Garcia informed the IBF that he had a change of heart and that he was going to vacate their junior welterweight title.

The IBF wasn’t the only one surprised by Garcia’s decision. Even boxing experts and fans were dumbfounded why Mikey would go back to fighting at 135 pounds when he had fought his last two fights at 140 and had won a world title there. Before fighting Lipinets, Garcia debuted as a junior welterweight in July 2017, easily outpointing former two weight division champion Adrien Broner in that contest.

After taking a major fight with Broner at 140, the logical fight to make for Garcia at 135 was a showdown with either Jorge Linares or Vasyl Lomachenko, who were scheduled to fight on May 12, 2018. Linares was considered as the best lightweight in the world, while Lomachenko was a junior lightweight champion who was moving up in weight to challenge Linares. But because that fight was booked in May, Garcia had to take another fight before challenging either fighter.

Mikey Garcia vs. Robert Easter Jr.
12 Rounds, WBC and IBF lightweight championship unification
Odds: Garcia -1400, Easter +750
(Odds at Bovada as of July 24, 2018)

Looking for a Career-Defining Win

That’s where Robert Easter entered the picture. The 5’11” Toledo, Ohio native owns one of the 135-pound titles coveted by Mikey Garcia. Easter won the IBF lightweight title by defeating Ghana’s Richard Commey by split decision in September 2016. Easter has since successfully defended the belt three times, taking decision victories over Luis Cruz, Denis Shafikov, and Javier Fortuna.

No doubt, Easter has solidified his unbeaten resume with three successful title defenses. Despite that, he is considered as an unknown commodity and one of the sport’s unheralded champions. Now he finally gets an opportunity to get a career-defining win not just against a big-name fighter but against the Ring’s #1-ranked lightweight.

Mikey Garcia is an absolute step-up in Easter’s level of opposition. Not only that, but Easter will be fighting the toughest fight of his career on the biggest stage he’s ever performed on. But if you ask him, Easter says that he has been ready for this moment since a long time ago. Easter began calling out Garcia as early as 2017 when there were rumors that they were negotiating a title unification. But that fight never materialized, and Garcia went on to move up in weight to face Broner instead. Now, Easter finally gets his big break.

To prepare himself for the biggest fight of his life, Easter moved to Florida to train with popular trainer Kevin Cunningham. Easter liked what Cunninghan did with Adrien Broner and Gervonta Davis, who were both impressive in their most recent outings. According to Easter, it’s been eat, sleep, and train in “Camp Cunningham,” and he believes it will take him to another level.

Easter didn’t look like a champion wanting to prove his spot among the elites when he fought Javier Fortuna in his most recent outing. During that bout, Easter needed a point deduction from Fortuna to take a close split decision win. Easter was also anything but spectacular against Shafikov, but if you judge him using his last two fights, you could be underestimating him. Robert Easter not only has unheard-of length, but he also has punching power and slick boxing skills.

Who Wins?

Garcia opened as a -700 favorite when the betting lines were first drawn. Easter, meanwhile, came back at a +450. But as of July 24, 2018, Bovada has Garcia at a higher -1400, while Easter is at +750. Everyone’s calling Mikey Garcia a generational champion and saying that Easter doesn’t stand a chance of pulling an upset. Physically, though, don’t count out the underdog.

There is a very noticeable size difference between the fighters, as Easter literally towers over Garcia. The IBF champion enjoys a 5-inch height and 8-inch reach advantage over the WBC titleholder. With that kind of advantage, you’ve got to think that Easter will try to set the pace of this fight with his jab. And with the pop that he has in his punches, he will try to land his big punches from afar.

Garcia started out as a knockout artist, but through the years, he’s become a very balanced fighter. In recent fights, Garcia has displayed the patience and boxing IQ to break down talented opponents and win decisions over them. Technically, he’s eons better than Robert Easter Jr., in my opinion. In terms of punching power, I’d still say that after two fights at 140, Garcia has more pop in his punches.

It’s also interesting to note that Mikey Garcia will be fighting in front of a crowd that is going to cheer for him. Garcia is one of the most popular fighters from South California, and this is his first bout at Staples Center as a world champion. You bet he wants to deliver a special show in his home state.

Easter is a fast starter. We anticipate him to be that in this fight and give Garcia some problems in the opening rounds. But once Mikey figures him out, Easter’s taller frame will make him more susceptible to Garcia’s signature body blows. Easter’s chin will probably hold against Garcia’s head punches, but the body shots will eventually wear him down. After the halfway point (if Easter’s body permits), Garcia is going to start to dominate, and I expect him to win by stoppage in the second half of the fight.

Robert Easter is a legit champion, no question about that. But Mikey Garcia is the real deal, and we’re going to see that on July 28^th. We’re picking Mikey Garcia to win by knockout.