It may have taken a few more months later than expected, but Errol Spence Jr. and Mikey Garcia appear to have their superfight set.
First reported by Mike Coppinger, both Spence and Garcia are closing in on a deal that would have the two fight in a 2019 pay-per-view main event with February being the targeted month. The fight, if it gets made, could potentially take place in Texas and it would be for Spence's IBF welterweight title.
Garcia had explored the possibility of fighting Spence earlier this year, before his WBC and IBF lightweight unification fight against Robert Easter Jr. in late July. After Garcia defeated Easter to unify the titles in Los Angeles, Garcia quickly set his sights for a potential December showdown against Spence. A victory over Spence would give Garcia a major world title in five weight classes, a feat accomplished by six boxers throughout history: Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya, Thomas Hearns, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Sugar Ray Leonard and Amanda Serrano.
With Spence reciprocating Garcia's feelings for a fight, the two appear set to fight at the end of 2018. But when Showtime announced that Deontay Wilder would defend his WBC heavyweight title against Tyson Fury on a December 1 pay-per-view, talks of Spence vs. Garcia cooled off.
Spence had been inactive since this past June when he knocked out mandatory challenger Carlos Ocampo in the first round. That fight headlined a Showtime telecast from The Star, the practice facility of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. Spence won the title in 2017 with a win over Kell Brook and has made two successful title defenses.
On the same night Garcia defeated Easter, the four-division champion gave his thoughts to Fightful in the post-fight press conference on what his legacy would be like if he were to beat Spence. You can read more on that at this link.