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Things didn't work out well the first time Mikey Garcia moved to Welterweight. He got picked apart by a bigger and better man. Instead of going back down, he made adjustments and came right back. In the same state he took his first "L" to Errol Spence, and within a short driving distance, he corrected that wrong.
Jessie Vargas actually started out crisper and getting the better of the exchanges. But Mikey kept pressing forward and eventually, it paid off. The duo went rock em sock em robots at times, especially in the 4th round. The high pace that Vargas set was bound to catch up with him. He cracked left hooks to Mikey's face with reckless abandon and had a solid jab working too.
Midway through the fight, Mikey came alive. He bloodied Jesse's nose, wobbled him, then dropped him in the 5th with his own hooks and rights. Garcia's uppercut was solid as well and it put Vargas on his heels. The patience Mikey showed early in picking his shots started paying dividends as he started to stalk the bigger man. Garcia started to tee off on Jessie with unanswered combos.
With Jessie slowing down significantly and not moving off the centerline, Mikey was having more and more success. Vargas got wobbled a couple of times but his solid pedigree and his will kept him upright for the remainder of the fight.
Although it was a unanimous decision for Mikey; if a couple of rounds went the other way Jessie would have come away with the win, or at worst case, they would draw. Eddie Hearn would love to have Mikey this summer go to Saudi Arabia to face Manny Pacquaio. Mikey would obviously love a crack at the WBA title, especially with him winning the WBC diamond title - either that or re-matching Errol is also on his radar.
As far as Vargas goes; he'd like to run it back vs Garcia since he acknowledged some key mistakes he made. Mikey will still be undersized for the most part at welterweight, but he showed his power can translate. And that's a great equalizer in the sweet science.
