12 Rounds of Thoughts - Mikey Garcia vs. Juan Carlos Burgos HBO Boxing

Round 1 – Oh how the heavyweight division has decimated.  I really miss the 90’s. Between hip-hop and the heavyweight division, I don’t which has had a bigger downfall.

Round 2 – Heavyweight prospect Mike Perez was exposed last week and in the early rounds tonight, it looked like the same for Bryant Jennings.

Round 3 – Bryant Jennings slowly imposed his will on Artur Szpilka and his knockdown of the Polish heavyweight with a body shot in the sixth round was impressive.

Round 4 – Jennings is 18-0 with 10 knockouts but honestly, I’m not very optimistic about him.  He’s a good boxer who is very composed but he lacks big time power and charisma.  I’ll continue to keep an eye on him, but like I said, I’m not very optimistic.

Round 5 – On the other hand, Artur Szpilka came in the ring undefeated but left with some bold writing on the wall.  He’s an average fighter at best.  He didn’t let his hands go, continued to fight moving backwards and his chin is highly suspect. That's a bad combination when you're fighting heavyweights. 

Round 6 – The first three rounds of Mikey Garcia – Juan Carlos Burgos was tactical boxing at its best!

Round 7 – In the last two fights, Garcia’s been hurt early, only to rebound and dominate the rest of the fight. Burgos rocked him with a counter left hook that staggered the undefeated champion but couldn’t follow up. 

Round 8 – If it weren’t for that counter left hook by Burgos in the second round, Garcia would’ve won every round handily. 

Round 9 – Mikey Garcia is a technician.  If you come at him recklessly, he will counter you and knock you out.  If you try to outbox him, he will beat you with precision and timing.  He’s a complete fighter that will be hard to beat for 12 rounds. 

Round 10 – With such masterful skills in the ring, I do wish that Mikey Garcia would be a little more aggressive and go for the kill, but he is what he is and if it’s working, why change?

Round 11 – Yuriorkis Gamboa was sitting ringside and I have to believe that he’s thinking one of two things.. 1.) If I can beat Garcia to the punch like Burgos did in the second round, I’ll knock him down and he won’t get up.  2.) If I can’t beat him to the punch and hurt him early, I’m in for a long night. 

Round 12 – I think Mikey Garcia’s a great fighter and will have long prosperous career, but he’s not a superstar.  There’s no reason to put him on a path to move up past 135 and have him fight the likes of a Manny Pacquiao.  That’s not to say that he can’t move up and win, but I see him being a dominant fighter in divisions south of 140.