By Keith Idec
ARLINGTON, Texas – Mikey Garcia couldn’t help but smile while answering the question.
“About 150,” Garcia told FOX’s Heidi Androl after she asked Garcia during a press conference Wednesday at AT&T Stadium how much he’ll weigh when he encounters Errol Spence Jr. on Saturday night. That weight wouldn’t have raised eyebrows if Garcia were preparing for another 140-pound fight against a lesser opponent.
But even if Garcia gave a slightly deceptive answer, the four-division champion figures to weigh at least 15 pounds less than Spence when the bell rings for their IBF welterweight title fight. In accordance with the IBF’s second-day weigh-in guidelines, neither Spence nor Garcia can weigh more than 157 pounds Saturday morning, 10 pounds above the welterweight limit.
From Saturday morning until the start of their fight Saturday night, both boxers can gain as much weight as they see fit.
The 29-year-old Spence is used to weighing in around 147 pounds and adding plenty of weight between weigh-ins and fights. The DeSoto, Texas, native estimated that he’ll weigh “probably 160” pounds when their FOX Pay-Per-View bout begins.
“I don’t know,” Spence said. “I won’t be too heavy. You know, I’m already on weight right now. So, the 10-pound limit won’t be an issue at all and, you know, I won’t get too big because I don’t wanna be sluggish or have extra pounds on me. So, I won’t be too big. I don’t know, probably 160.”
Multiple sources familiar with Spence’s gains after weigh-ins have suggested to BoxingScene.com that the 5-feet-10 southpaw will weigh at least 165 pounds. Regardless, he’ll own a significant size advantage over the 5-feet-6 Garcia (39-0, 30 KOs), whose last fight was contested at the lightweight limit of 135.
Garcia, of Oxnard, California, trained at Victor Conte’s Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning facility in Northern California, to carefully add weight for this fight. He wants to avoid getting too heavy, however, because it’ll impact his advantages against a tall, powerful opponent who has boxed just one round in the past 14 months.
“I’ll probably be right around where I normally walk around,” Garcia said. “I’ll probably come in at about 150. I don’t feel that it’s a good advantage for me to try to gain weight or hydrate too much. You know, I don’t plan on being big and huge and bulk up like that. You know, I wanna be sharp, I wanna be quick. You know, I’m not even naturally a big guy. So, it would be crazy for me to think I’m gonna be too much in weight.”
2023-10-22 22:21:38
