Tonight, Mikey Garcia returns to action against Russion champion Sergey Lipinets in San Antonio.
Garcia had to wait a month after the scheduled bout was postponed due to an injury to his hand. Now ready for action, the two champs look to each other as springboards that will either cement the understated greatness of one, or catapult the other into the limelight.
“A victory over Lipinets would help me because that’s another title, another division,” Garcia said to TSL in our video series DRIVEN: Mikey Garcia. “Not many fighters can accomplish titles in multiple divisions like that; this will be my fourth division.”
Fighter of the Week: Mikey Garcia
FIGHTER OF THE WEEK: Three-division World Champion Mikey Garcia (37-0, 30 KOs) looks to add a fourth belt to his collection Saturday, March 10, 2018 when he takes on unbeaten 140-pound titleholder Sergey Lipinets (13-0, 10 KOs) at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas. Watch the fight live on SHOWTIME at 10:15 p.m.
With only 13 professional fights under his belt, Lipinets (13-0, 10 KOs) does not look intimidating on paper. However, he is a Kazakhstani-Russian boxer and former kickboxer who has held the IBF light welterweight title since November 2017. After a surprisingly brief amateur boxing career (surprising based on the Eastern European norm of a lengthy amateur career) in which he went 355, Lipinets turned pro in 2014.
After winning 10 pro bouts, Lipinets faced Lenny Zappavigna in an IBF eliminator. Lipinets proved to be too much for Zappavigna, as the latter went down during round 5 before being counted out following a right straight from Lipinets in round 8.
The IBF then ordered Lipinets to face Akihiro Kondo for their vacant title. Lipinets connected to Kondo’s body often throughout the fight, but Kondo remained unfazed by the body shots. Kondo kept coming forward and rocked Lipinets in round 5. Still, Lipinets became the IBF champion, winning by unanimous decision (118110, 117111, 117111), which was booed upon being announced.
Lipinets vs. Rhodes FULL FIGHT: Oct. 30, 2015 – PBC on Bounce
Sergey Lipinets defeated Lydell Rhodes by UD on their October 30th, 2015 PBC on Bounce matchup. Lydell Rhodes controlled the tempo from over the first four rounds behind a rapid-fire jab, but then Sergey Lipinets chased his shorter opponent, probing with a jab in an attempt to land a big right hand.
Garcia is coming off the biggest wins of his career last year when he had a highlight reel finish of Dejan Zlaticanin to gain the WBC lightweight title and a shutout unanimous decision victory over Adrien Broner on one of the biggest stages in boxing, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
It is a popular assumption that Garcia will walk through Lipinets or have a war that his experience states is in his favor. Still, this fight is only a microcosm of what Garcia has in store for the boxing world.
“After this fight, I still want to come down to 135 pounds to get a big unification match at 135. Eventually, every fight that I’m taking is meaningful in one way or another. Whether it’s a unification match at 135 or maybe a title fight at 140, eventually 147.”
With eyes already planted on his current lightweight title being unified all the way to the dominant welterweight division where Terence Crawford has now decided to venture, Garcia has a lot to accomplish ahead of him.
MIKEY GARCIA VS SERGEY LIPINETS FULL PRESS CONFERENCE & FACE OFF VIDEO
MIKEY GARCIA VS SERGEY LIPINETS FULL PRESS CONFERENCE & FACE OFF VIDEO in this mikey garcia vs sergey lipinets video, the full garcia vs lipinets press conference and garcia vs lipinets face off for the garcia vs lipinets fight Twitter/Instagram: @fighthubtv @heyitsmarcosv For more Boxing and MMA videos log onto http://www.fighthubtv.com Like us: http://on.fb.me/xWRC1f follow us: http://bit.ly/wACkIv Boxing videos!
Lipinet’s has enlisted respected coach Buddy McGirt as his head trainer, which is a definite advantage in the fight. The Garcia family coaching squad of course is at the helm of Mikey’s training, and beyond the fighters, it is a definite style matchup between coach Robert Garcia and McGirt.
A win over Lipinets brings Garcia closer to levels that fighters like Manny Pacquaio, who is an eight-division world champion, or Floyd Mayweather, who is a five-division world champion, have redefined as the new measure of success and domination in pugilism.
“I think when I get to 147, that’s when people will finally give me the credit that I deserve,” said Garcia. “I think the public will finally be able to say, that was if not the best, then definitely one of the best fighters of this generation. I just think the fights that I’m going to take will show everybody that and what I’m accomplishing is for a reason and definitely well-deserved.”
