Round Up: Garcia TKOs Remillard

FIGHT: Champion MATT REMILLARD, 23-0, 13 KOs, Manchester, Conn. vs. MIKEY GARICA, 24-0, 20 KOs, Oxnard, Ca.

DIVISION: NABO, NABF Featherweight Championship – 12 Rounds

RESULT: Garcia Wins By TKO

DETAIL: Garcia may have beat up on Remillard for virtually the entire fight, but Remillard showed true grit in a gutsy effort against a much better fighter. Remillard, who’d never hit the canvas before, went down three times – twice in the ninth and once in the tenth – before his corner mercifully threw in the towel before round 11.

It was a good decision, as Garcia – focused, poised, and in control in every round – tagged Remillard at will with flush shots. By the time of the stoppage, Garcia had thrown 203 punches to Remillard’s 83. And though he was as game as it comes, standing tall in the face of an often withering barrage of brutal punches courtesy of the hard-hitting Garcia, the constant punishment showed on Remillard’s battered face and, strangely, his ear, which had become slightly deformed.

With the biggest win of his career – not to mention a pair of belts – behind him, Garica is quickly moving up in a division full to bursting with talent. With his brother Robert – one of the best trainers in the sport – in his corner, Garcia seems poised for big things.