Report: Mikey Garcia To Keep IBF Junior Welterweight Title, First Title Defense Already Ordered
Mikey Garcia‘s time in the lightweight division and as the WBC champion at 135 pounds may be over.
According to a report from ESPN, Garcia, who holds both the WBC lightweight title and IBF junior welterweight title, has elected to keep his IBF title after he had been given 10 days to decide which belt to keep. The report said Garcia wrote a letter to the IBF on March 21 indicating he would keep their 140-pound title.
As a result of Garcia keeping his IBF title, it’s likely that he will have to vacate his WBC title and then have to fight IBF mandatory challenger Ivan Baranchyk. Baranchyk won the opportunity to challenge for the IBF world title after defeating former lightweight world title challenger Petr Petrov on a Showtime boxing card on March 9.
Garcia won the IBF title after defeating Sergey Lipinets by unanimous decision on March 10 in the main event of a Showtime Championship Boxing card in San Antonio, Texas. Garcia was ordered to fight WBA and WBC Diamond champion Jorge Linares after his fight against Lipinets, but Linares then scheduled a fight with Vasyl Lomachenko for May 12 at Madison Square Garden.
The 30-year-old Garcia, who is one of 17 men to have won a major boxing world title in four different weight classes, has held the WBC title since January 2017 when he knocked out Dejan Zlaticanin, but has never defended the title. Instead he sought out fights against Adrien Broner and Lipinets at higher weights.
