by David P. Greisman

Elio Rojas put up a spirited effort against Mikey Garcia this past Saturday, taking the first two rounds on all three judges’ scorecards. But Garcia was too able to take Rojas’ shots, while Rojas was dropped four times in five rounds thanks to Garcia’s power.

“Mikey is just stronger,” Rojas said immediately afterward. “I’m a natural 126-pounder fighting above my weight.”

Both Rojas and Garcia are former featherweight titleholders. Garcia also went on to win a belt at 130. This fight was in the junior welterweight division; Rojas came in at 139 and Garcia at 138.

“Tonight wasn’t my night. It was Mikey Garcia’s night,” Rojas added later. “In reality I felt his power. I think the weight made a difference. Pretty soon I’ll be back. My original weight is 130. That’s where I should be fighting at. I don’t want to have no excuses. He had a better night than I did.”

This was Rojas’ first fight in nearly two years due to disagreements with his team.

He won a world title over Takahiro Ao in 2009, defended it once in 2010 and then lost it to Jhonny Gonzalez in 2012. He then didn’t fight again for 28 months, returning in August 2014, his last appearance before this past Saturday night.

The 33-year-old from the Dominican Republic is now 24-3 with 14 KOs.

Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com