Mikey Garcia will defend his WBO and The Ring Featherweight Championships on Saturday night as he arguably faces his toughest challenge to date in the form of former Featherweight and Super Bantamweight Champion Juan Manuel Lopez.
Before the heavy hitters can get acquainted in the ring, however, they will come face to face at Friday's weigh-in. Nobody ever knows quite what to expect at a weigh-in as some of them go smoothly as intended while others devolve into all-out brawls. The only way to find out what will happen between Garcia and Lopez is to tune in.
Here is all the information you need to know how, when and where to watch the weigh-in for the highly-anticipated Garcia vs. Lopez bout.
Where: American Airlines Center in Dallas
When: Firday, June 14 at 2:30 p.m. ET
Live Stream: ESPN.com
Live Weigh-In Video
Biggest Keys to Fight
Punching Power Galore
Provided Garcia and Lopez make weight as expected, they figure to engage in an evenly-matched contest on Saturday. A big reason for that is the fact that they both possess elite punching power. The 25-year-old Garcia is undefeated at 31-0 with 26 of his wins coming by way of knockout. Lopez is 33-2 in his own right with 30 knockout victories.
It is often said that a fight can end with one punch, and while that is hyperbole much of the time, it is very much the truth in this case. Garcia and Lopez are arguably the most powerful featherweights in boxing, so this is a dream fight for many fans.
Coincidentally, one of the boxers could very well be sent to dreamland at some point during the fight. Since 32 of Lopez's 35 career professional fights have ended in a knockout, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that this one could be stopped early. Lopez has a lot of power in his own right, but he has been knocked out twice as well, so Garcia will likely throw everything he has at Lopez.
Who Has More Stamina?
While a knockout is a very strong possibility, there is certainly a chance that Garcia and Lopez could take this fight deep and push the 12-round limit. If that happens, it is very difficult to say which boxer has the advantage. They have gone to the scorecards a combined eight times in 66 career fights, so the sample size is small and it adds another wrinkle to an already intriguing bout.
Lopez hasn't gone the distance since beating Rogers Mtagwa by a 12-round unanimous decision back in 2009. Other than that, Lopez has never fought for 12 rounds. Garcia has never lasted 12 rounds either as all of his 12-round fights have ended early. His fights that did go to the scorecards ranged anywhere from four to eight rounds, so he could find himself in uncharted waters on Saturday.
With both men presumably going for a knockout, they may not have to worry about their stamina ultimately. If neither man is able to put the other away, though, it will come down to which fighter has the most left in reserve.
Will Lopez's Stance Give Garcia Trouble?
It hasn't been talked about much during the lead up to the fight, but one thing that makes Lopez particularly difficult to face is his southpaw stance. Being a southpaw isn't as rare as it once was, but orthodox is still the dominant stance, so many fighters don't see southpaws too often. That fact could work in Lopez's advantage on Saturday.
Lopez is more dangerous than most southpaws because he combines a different look with knockout power. It can be difficult to evade punches when they are being thrown differently than usual, and Garcia can't afford to be hit too often as Lopez can end a fight at any given time.
There won't be much deception on Garcia's end as Lopez has surely fought orthodox boxers many times over the course of his career. As long as Garcia's team has prepared him properly, though, he shouldn't concern himself much with Lopez's stance. It stands to reason that he has been sparring exclusively against southpaws in preparation for this fight, so he is hoping that it will be second nature for him.
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