News finally broke of multi-weight pound for pound star Mikey Garcia signing a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing USA on Sunday.
To coincide with his 32nd birthday, Garcia was revealed to have inked on the dotted line with DAZN chiefs to fight under Eddie Hearn.
WBN learned the situation earlier in the weekend, but obviously the story was embargoed until Garcia celebrated another year.
The former four-weight king will now return to action on February 29. The California favorite looks to regain his World champion status and continue his glittering career at the elite level.
WBN looks at five potentially huge match-ups for Garcia after Hearn finally landed one of his top targets.
REGIS PROGRAIS
Lou DiBella was quick to throw his hat into the ring with Garcia to co-promote a massive fight with World Boxing Super Series finalist Regis Prograis.
The possible collision received a warm welcome.
👀How about @mikeygarcia vs. @RPrograis, on @DAZN_USA, sometime in 2020?! What do you think, folks? #boxing #dreamfight 🥊🥊🥊 @JohnSkipper @joemarkowski @EddieHearn https://t.co/U8K313g5U9
— Lou DiBella🥊 (@loudibella) December 15, 2019
JOSH TAYLOR
The man who pipped Prograis to the post, Josh Taylor, would also be a mammoth fight for Garcia, possibly over the summer in the UK.
AMIR KHAN
Khan still holds ties with Hearn in a working capacity and could certainly be persuaded to face someone in the ilk of Garcia if he fails to land Manny Pacquiao.
MAURICE HOOKER
Hooker remains on the books at Matchroom and would relish the chance once a comeback victory is secured.
JORGE LINARES
The Venezuelan is back in the win column himself and wants one more run at the big time before retiring after a long, hard career.
If Garcia knows what’s good for him, most of the welterweights out there should be avoided. Khan only comes into play as the fight makes complete sense to both at this stage of their tenures.
Garcia is not a 147-pound force, but a match-up with Khan would see two superior boxers go at it in a marvellous all-action contest.
As Errol Spence proved, Garcia would be better suited to the super-lightweight ranks, where WBN rates him number one.
For now, and before any huge encounters, Garcia will step back into the ring early in 2020 for the first time since losing to Spence in a bid to win World honors at a fifth weight.
Garcia is on the hunt for more World title clashes. He wants big-name showdowns to add further scalps to a stellar resume that boasts wins over the likes of Adrien Broner, Roman Martinez and Orlando Salido. Garcia believes that the best is yet to come.
“I’m happy to announce my return to the ring for February 29,” said Garcia. “I’m eager to make my return and grow my legacy.
“I look forward to working with Matchroom Boxing USA and DAZN. I want to thank all my fans for the continued support.
“Fight details will be announced soon and I can’t wait to be back in the ring.”
GOTCHA
Hearn was obviously buzzing to finally land his man.
“I’ve been talking to Mikey for over a year now and I’m so happy to welcome him to the team. Mikey is a standout star and I’m looking forward to working with him on big fights moving forward.
“He will return to the ring on February 29 and we will be announcing the opponent and venue shortly.
“The talent within Matchroom Boxing and on DAZN is unprecedented – we look forward to an epic 2020!”
“Mikey Garcia joining the DAZN roster will allow us to deliver even greater value to our subscribers as our Fight Season schedule begins to take shape for 2020,” said Joseph Markowski, DAZN EVP, North America.
“We’re a data-led business and so we’re naturally drawn to the fact that Mikey has consistently delivered numbers.
“Whether it’s been television audience, pay-per-view buys or ticket sales. We look forward to welcoming his fans to DAZN on Leap Year Day.”
