Mikey Garcia tops Robert Easter Jr., unifies lightweight titles

Credit where credit is due — Robert Easter Jr. came into this lightweight unification with a good game plan and one that he stuck to over the distance, but it just wasn’t enough to upend Mikey Garcia. Garcia would use his magnificent timing to deal with Easter’s height and reach and got himself into punching position where he could deliver his power, earning a unanimous decision on official scores of 116-112, 117-111, and 118-108. I scored the fight 116-112 in favor of Garcia for BLH.

Easter started the fight with a prolific jab from the outside to both the head and body, but he couldn’t get Garcia’s timing down as Garcia himself was able to repeatedly land his jab despite his big reach disadvantage. And in the third round Garcia found the range on a right hand-left hook combination that put Easter on the deck.

Easter would be able to regain his feet and composure but Garcia will still too good over the distance, taking his time and picking Easter apart. Easter still tried to work his jab from the outside as best as he could — which was really his best shot to win — but as he started to tire he just gave Garcia more opportunities to tee off.

After the fight Garcia (39-0, 30 KOs) reasserted his claim that he wants a fight with welterweight titleholder Errol Spence Jr., who campaigns two divisions over where Garcia just fought tonight. Garcia maintains that he’s dead serious about the fight and with Spence in attendance, Spence too said he wants the fight as it’s the best one that available to him at the moment.

Easter (21-1, 14 KOs) was gracious in defeat, thanking his fans and saying that he’ll be going back to the drawing board, and at the end of the night Mikey Garcia walks away as the unified lightweight champion of the world, holding the WBC and IBF titles.