Lightweight champion Mikey Garcia has reached a deal to take on Richard Commey, avoiding a purse bid, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com
“We had to come to a decision and a conclusion here — either Mikey would have to give up his IBF title or defend it against Commey and the decision was to defend it,” promoter Rochard Schaefer told ESPN. “Now we have to select a date and a site. We have a little time to do that. I’ll be working on that with (Garcia adviser Al) Haymon and (Commey promoter) Lou DiBella during this week and next.”
“We made a deal for the fight, a real deal,” DiBella told ESPN. “Mikey Garcia isn’t walking through Richard Commey. Richard Commey is a tough fighter. He’s the kind of fighter who is a high-risk, no-reward type of opponent. But anyone who knows anything about boxing knows Richard Commey is a good fighter and top lightweight contender but obviously he is not bringing big money to the table. But Garcia wants to keep his title so he has to fight Commey. You got to give the guy credit. Mikey’s not afraid of anyone. It’s a great opportunity for Commey to prove himself.”
“Mikey has plenty of options at 135, 140 or even 147 pounds,” Schaefer said. “But that’s the beauty of things when you’re a talented fighter like Mikey. He decided to do this fight now but going forward he can have a big fight in any of those three weight classes. Mikey knows this is a tough fight. It’s a helluva fight, one of those fights where their styles will make a good fight. They seem made for each other.
“And what it shows you is that Mikey is the kind of fighter who doesn’t shy away from fighting anybody. He is willing to take on the best in each division. He’s the kind of fighter who is looking for the biggest challenges. So now I will be talking with Lou so we can finalize the details within the IBF time frame.”
