Now that WBC lightweight champion Mikey Garcia has elected to remain at lightweight, his sights are now reportedly set on a unification fight against IBF champion Robert Easter Jr.
According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, Garcia is aiming to fight Easter at the Staples Center in Los Angeles later this summer. Multiple dates are currently being considered for the fight including July 28 and two mid-late August dates.
The WBC did recently announce that a fight between Garcia and Easter Jr. was in the works, but no further details were mentioned at the time. Garcia has held the WBC title since January 2017, but has yet to defend his title. He fought Adrien Broner last year in a 140-pound fight and then remained at junior welterweight to fight for the IBF title.
Garcia defeated Sergey Lipinets this past March to win the title. Garcia then faced a decision as to which title he would keep and after initially electing to keep the IBF title, Garcia then decided to vacate the IBF title and defend his WBC lightweight title. Garcia has not fought at the Staples Center since knocking out Rafael Guzman to retain the NABF and WBO-NABO featherweight titles.
Easter Jr. has held the IBF title since 2016, defeating Richard Commey by split decision to win the then-vacant title. Easter Jr. has made three successful title defenses, most recently fighting on the January 20 Showtime Championship Boxing card. Easter Jr. defeated Javier Fortuna to retain his title.
