Vinny’s Views: Sergey Lipinets Vs Mikey Garcia: The Stats, The Facts & The Fight Prediction Is In!

By Vinny “Glory Days” Lucci

In a sport full of glory hounds, carnival barkers and pretenders it’s an awesome affair when a classy boxer comes along with extraordinary talent that exemplifies all the true measures of a champion both inside and out of the ring. Enter Mikey Garcia, a seasoned pro whose been on the beat over a decade and yet his every performance is like a breath of fresh air as if the kid just arrived.

Having already won three world titles and in quest of number four next month you get a feeling beyond boxing passion that this champion is already on a collision course with greatness as he aligns his ledger with hall of fame credentials. There is a gentleman’s persona reminiscent of the immortal Alexis Arguello etched upon both the fighter’s work ethic and media conferences that forgoes the nonsensical braggadocio that pollutes most of the boxing landscape today. This is a confident cat who is relaxed about his future having already proven his past.

The Event:

WBC Lightweight champ Mikey Garcia moves north five pounds to challenge one Sergey Lipinets for his newly won IBF Junior welterweight title (140 lbs). Showtime Boxing will air the live event on March 10th, where Ring Star Sports and TGB Promotions will host at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Live gate seats range from modest $25.00 to $250.00.

Stats:

Mikey Garcia is the attraction here putting his unblemished record of 37-0, 30 KO’s on the line. The American Latino hails from Oxnard California and boxes form the orthodox stance. At 5’6″ with a 68″ reach its safe to say that Garcia is peaking now and a bit of a stretch imagining him entering the welterweight division anytime soon; but “can’t” simply does not exist in Mikey’s vernacular. At thirty years old and never having taken real punishment in the ring it will be fascinating watching the talented star aim his crosshairs all the way up to 154, the Jr. Middleweight division.

His opponent, world champion Sergey Lipinets will stand par on many levels with Garcia except experience. At 5’7″ with a 68″ reach the 28 year old fighter won’t have to chase down Garcia but still have to look for him nonetheless. Another disparity is defense. Sergey is an orthodox Kazakhstani Russian who now calls Beverly Hills home. His resume is a very modest 13-0, 10 KO’s, but his power and chin make me a legit threat on paper to extend Mikey’s game to the final bell. Known as “Samurai” Lipinets has been a world traveler in his short career that started in 2014. For a boxer who hails from Eastern European roots his amateur career is uncharacteristically brief at 35-5.

Previous Bout:

Garcia took on the fan favorite sound board named Adrien Broner this past July. Ringside Report scored bout same as ESPN with a shutout for Garcia. The official scorecards tallied 117-111, & 116-112 (twice). Garcia officially landed twice as many punches leaving Broner once again perplexed as “Problem Solved.”

Lipinets with a mere dozen fights fought Akihiro Kondo for vacant IBF Light welterweight title last November and won a unanimous decision.

Of note before this fight was inked, Miguel Cotto offered up a shot at his WBO Light middleweight title to Garcia clearly looking to exploit a smaller “name” champion in which to end his career upon before his self imposed retirement. The money offered on the table was much less than this fight’s cool guaranteed one million dollars. Even though Garcia had just rose twice in his last two previous bouts Cotto wanted him to raise two (another 14 lbs) more making it obvious team Cotto was looking to secure a victory on paper and apparently not interested in giving fans one last great hurrah. As karma often dictates Cotto picked lightly regarded welterweight Sadam Ali and lost to the huge underdog by unanimous decision.

Styles:

Garcia doesn’t carry a boxing moniker, but I liken him to an “Iceman.” He has a very tight defense and he doesn’t waste motion or energy walking his man down looking to break his confidence or exploit mistakes when his foe gets frustrated and tries to get his punches off. Mikey has excellent defense and terrific balance. To the trained eye he rarely loses a round.

Juxtaposed Lipinets carries his guard at shoulder height making his chin an inviting target and leaving his temples exposed. He is a hard throwing brawler with decent balance but he keeps his right foot splayed a bit too wide in which he uses to maximize his punching ability. Hence it slightly negates his foots speed and lateral movement. He has good hand speed and always throws in combination. The fighter is most efficient if one grenade lands then attacks body and head with equal aplomb in search of a knockout without letting up.

Experience:

While Sergey has quickly ascended to champion status his lack of amateur background compiled with a rocket ride to the throne will likely not be enough to solve the problematic equation of too much talent laid out before him.

Garcia turned pro back in 2006. He started boxing at 14, and between 2003 and 2005 was a highly decorated amateur who won many honors. After winning his first two world titles he went on a self imposed hiatus which ate up two and a half years of his career just as he came into prominence. Still, he has logged a solid ten years into a note worthy career of distinction and seems highly focused on his own agenda, legacy and longevity. The long layoff never showed signs of rust and gave his body a good rest.

What to look for fight night:

Sergey will look to cut off ring and test Mikey’s chin and rib cage at dawn’s early light. Garcia will use his speed and better defense to neutralize the constant bombardment and look to slow his man down with counters.

The Vinny Factor:

In a fight like this you never want to overlook your opponent to see what bigger event is just down the road. Lipinets has more to lose playing it safe than going for broke and looking to remove Garcia from the canvasses natural gravity. At this point based on a thin record, it’s hard to establish if Sergey has a world class chin and if Mikey can bang hard enough at 140 to make him respect the pocket without throwing caution to the wind.

Odds:

Garcia is a solid favorite at -1250 Vegas odds to Lipinets +550. It’s 25/1 on a draw. The “exciting” line to wager on if you’re the betting type is whether or not the fight goes the distance.
Prediction: Garcia by close, but unanimous decision. Mikey will fight hard but play it safe and not worry about the knockout unless it presents itself. Against a formidable puncher in a new division he’ll pick his spots and win rounds but characteristically not go to war unless he finds his hand speed far surpasses that of the champion.

Stay tuned…

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