Jorge Linares
Robert Garcia said if Mikey is unable to land a fight with Cotto, he could potentially fight Robert Easter Jr. in a unification fight in December. On October 5, the WBC ordered a fight between Garcia and Jorge Linares (43-3, 27 KOs), as Linares holds the WBC Diamond title, in addition to the WBA lightweight title. Garcia commented on Twitter that the Cotto fight couldn't happen as Golden Boy Promotions required him signing an exclusive long-term contract with them in order to make the fight. Garcia also mentioned that the fight with Linares wouldn't happen before the end of the year as Linares was unavailable on December. Lance Pugmire reported for the "Los Angeles Times" that Garcia would most likely return on December or January against Robert Easter Jr..