Mikey Garcia ready to take WBO title
WBA/IBO Middleweight World Champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin, left, poses with training partner Tony Harrison at an event promoting Golovkin's fight with Gabriel Rosado at Madison Square Garden. (Jan. 15, 2013) Credit: K2 Promotions
HBO's Boxing After Dark has a quality tripleheader set for Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
Mikey Garcia (30-0, 26 KOs) takes on WBO featherweight champion Orlando Salido (39-11-2, 27 KOs) in a 12-round featherweight bout. Garcia has turned heads in recent months. Some of that stardom is due in part to his trainer combination of his father Eduardo and his brother Robert Garcia.
‘It’s been a very intense training camp because we know that this is the most important fight of my career,” said Garcia. “I believe I have the skills and the strength to beat Orlando Salido, but I know that I have to be very smart and very patient in the ring.”
Salido has won fight straight bouts dating back to April 16. His last loss came at the hands of Yuriorkis Gamboa on September 11, 2010.
"I have been waiting to fight for a world championship for awhile and I am ready for the challenge,” Garcia added. “I now have the experience and the skill to face the best fighters at featherweight and I will prove it.”
Up and coming middleweight Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KOs) will face Gabriel Rosado (21-5, 13 KOs) in a 12-round bout. Golovkin (pictured left) is making just his second appearance in America. Rosado has won seven straight fights.
Roman Martinez (26-1-1, 16 KOs) will defend his WBO super featherweight title against Juan Carlos Burgos (30-1, 20 KOs) in the first televised bout of the night. Martinez has won two straight fights since a set back to Ricky Burns in 2010. He scored a split-decision win over Miguel Beltran to recapture his title last September.
