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Mikey Garcia’s Second Welterweight Assault Happens Saturday in Texas
Imagine if the Corleone Family of the fictional film “The Godfather” were involved in the prizefighting world. That’s kind of what you get with the Garcias.
Eduardo Garcia heads the Riverside-based boxing family but retired years ago. The day-to-day leadership role now lies in the hands of Robert “Grandpa” Garcia.
Just like the Corleone family the Garcias have their own compound and its army of fighters are geared toward preparing Mikey Garcia (39-1, 30 KOs) for his welterweight assault against Jessie Vargas (29-2-2, 11 KOs) on Saturday, Feb. 29. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card from The Ford Center in Frisco, Texas.
The Robert Garcia Boxing Academy functions like a daily boot camp with prizefighters arriving and departing Monday through Saturday.
It’s a grinding human factory of fistic proportions that never stops.
It all started in Oxnard, California back in the 1980s when older brother Daniel Garcia became a professional. He was followed by Robert “Grandpa” Garcia who was the first to win a world title in 1998 against Harold Warren. After two defenses he met with Diego Corrales and for seven rounds the two battled as if their life depended on it. It was brutal yet beautiful in its intensity.
After that fight, Corrales, who passed away in May 2007, said to this writer “wasn’t that a great fight?” And then quickly added: “I need a soda pop.”
Years after that fight with “Grandpa” Garcia, the always cheerful Corrales claimed that was his favorite fight.
Mikey
Reluctantly, Mikey Garcia followed into the family business and now serves as the leader of the pugilists and third member of his family to lace up professionally for the Garcia family.
He’s kind of like a Michael Corleone in that it wasn’t his lifetime plan.
“I wanted to become a police officer,” said Mikey Garcia who participated in the police academy. “I wasn’t really sure about boxing.”
Now the third brother of the Garcia clan seeks another division world title to add to his glowing collection. He already captured world titles in the featherweight, super featherweight, lightweight and super lightweight divisions.
It’s an incredible feat that goes unnoticed.
A year ago, the four-division champion was blocked from gaining a fifth division world title by welterweight kingpin Errol Spence Jr.
Mikey refuses to stop now.
“I learned a lot from that fight,” said Garcia, who lost by unanimous decision after 12 rounds to the southpaw Texan. “You always learn from every fight even a loss.”
Despite his father’s slight opposition, Mikey Garcia intends to enter combat with yet another tall welterweight in Vargas.
“I like a challenge,” says Mikey Garcia. “I think I have the ring intelligence to do what I need to get the win.”
The Godfather of the Garcia’s does not agree 100 percent.
“They are too big and too long,” said Eduardo Garcia the father to Ruben, Robert and Mikey Garcia. “I don’t like him at this weight. It’s too big.”
But the father realizes that his son hungers for challenges and is willing to take chances to obtain greater rewards and recognition.
Riverside Stronghold
Ever since the Garcias arrived on February 2010, the family has gained a strong foothold in Riverside, California and become a powerhouse in the boxing world. Mikey Garcia serves as the recognized leader of the more than two dozen prizefighters who train at the hilltop compound daily.
Ten years ago the patriarch Eduardo Garcia ventured to find a new home and one by one his sons followed – first Mikey, then Robert. Daniel still lives in the Oxnard area.
“It started with my dad who was looking at retirement. My career wasn’t anywhere near what it is today. Not knowing I would continue, I had just graduated from the police academy in 2010. I was looking at coming over here and maybe working law enforcement. But I came to follow my dad. He offered me a home.”
“We were already professional fighters and no apparent future and didn’t know where boxing was going for us,” said Mikey Garcia, 32. “I didn’t have much going for me in Oxnard either.”
The Garcias found a local gym that was being used by heavyweight contender Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola and Josesito Lopez. It was brand new and built on a hillside with a spectacular view of Jurupa Valley.
“We started with Indian Willie (Schunke) and later went to P-Town with Angel. At first we were trying to see where boxing would take us. It wasn’t my choice, it was my dad’s. I just followed him and I decided to stick around.”
Indian Willie Schunke was a mainstay in Riverside boxing as a cut man and built the gym with his own finances. But the popular corner man passed away in 2015. The Garcias needed to find another gym and by this time older brother Robert Garcia decided to sell the Oxnard gym and move to Riverside too.
“There was always boxing here with Chris Arreola, Artemio Reyes Jr. was up and coming. So boxing was already here,” said Mikey Garcia. “But now that my brother is based here, we really pushed boxing in the area.”
RGBA, as it is known, has a list of top contenders and prospects that are the envy of almost every gym in the West Coast. Fighters like Vergil Ortiz Jr. Josesito Lopez, Juan Carlos Ramirez, Saul “Neno” Rodriguez, Genaro Gamez and many others exchange punches in sparring and are polished and honed to fight-ready status.
“We rarely spar at other gyms,” said Vergil Ortiz Jr. “They usually come to us.”
All have contributed to Mikey Garcia’s second assault on the welterweight elite.
Jessie Vargas
Though originally raised in Los Angeles, the former super lightweight and welterweight world titlist Vargas lives and trains in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since his first days as a professional he’s always been considered a tough nut to crack.
In the beginning he worked with Roger Mayweather who never wasted time on so-so fighters. Vargas was always seen as a “sure thing.” Now, 12 years later and after impressive outings against Tim “Desert Storm” Bradley, Manny Pacquiao, Humberto Soto and others, the tall and lean fighter faces a much smaller but potent foe in Garcia.
“Mikey Garcia is a talented fighter and a warrior as am I,” said Vargas, 30, who has a five-inch height advantage. “I’m excited. I’m stoked. Can’t wait to get into the ring.”
Garcia realizes you can’t teach height and Vargas indeed has an advantage physically with his reach as well. But that’s the fun of it.
“I think it’s a big challenge for me, a great challenge to compete at welter, but I think I have enough skills and talent to do it,” said Garcia. “I already got a taste and I learned and want to make sure I improve my legacy.”
It’s a legacy that started more than 30 years ago and now Mikey Garcia stands ready to expand the Garcia Empire.
I think I saw this movie before.
Photo credit: Al Applerose
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Floyd Schofield Wins a Banger and Gabriela Fundora Wins by KO
Floyd Schofield Wins a Banger and Gabriela Fundora Wins by KO
LAS VEGAS-Shades of Henry Armstrong and Baby Arizmendi. If you don’t know those names, look them up.
Floyd Schofield battled his way past Mexico’s super tough Rene Tellez Giron who walked through every blow the Texan could fire but lost by decision on Saturday.
It was a severe test and perfect matchmaking for Schofield who yearns for the big bouts against the lightweight giants roaming the world.
Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) remains undefeated and won the war over thick-necked Mexican Tellez Giron (20-4, 13 KOs) who has never been knocked out and proved to be immune to big punches.
In the opening rounds, the Texas fighter came out firing rapid combinations from the southpaw and orthodox stances. Meanwhile the shorter Tellez Giron studied and fired back an occasional counter for two rounds.
Tellez Giron had seen enough and took his stand in the third stanza. Both unleashed blazing bombs with Schofield turning his back to the Mexican. At that moment referee Tom Taylor could have waved the fight over.
You never turn your back.
The fight resumed and Schofield was damaged. He tried to open up with even more deadly fire but was rebuked by the strong chin of Tellez Giron who fired back in the mad frenzy.
For the remainder of the fight Schofield tried every trick in his arsenal to inflict damage on the thick-necked Mexican. He could not be wobbled. In the 11th round both opened up with serious swing-from-the-heels combinations and suddenly Schofield was looking up. He beat the count easily and the two remained slugging it out.
“He hit me with a good shot,” Schofield said of the knockdown. “I just had to get up. I’m not going to quit.”
In the final round Schofield moved around looking for the proper moment to engage. The Mexican looked like a cat ready to pounce and the two fired furious blows. Neither was hit with the big bombs in the last seconds.
There was Tellez Giron standing defiantly like Baby Arizmendi must have stood in those five ferocious meetings against the incomparable Henry Armstrong. Three of their wars took place in Los Angeles, two at the Olympic Auditorium in the late 1930s as the U.S. was emerging from the Great Depression.
In this fight, Schofield took the win by unanimous decision by scores 118-109 twice and 116-111. It was well-deserved.
“I tried to bang it out,” said Schofield. “Today I learned you can’t always get the knockout.”
Fundora
IBF flyweight titlist Gabriela Fundora needed seven rounds to figure out the darting style of Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz before firing a laser left cross down the middle to end the battle and become the undisputed flyweight world champion.
Fundora now holds all four titles including the WBO, WBA and WBC titles that Alaniz brought in the ring.
Fundora knocked down Alaniz midway through the seventh round. She complained it was due to a tangle of the legs. Several seconds later Fundora blasted the Argentine to the floor again with a single left blast. This time there was no doubt. Her corner wisely waved a white towel to stop the fight at 1:40 of the seventh round.
No one argued the stoppage.
Other Bouts
Bektemir Melikuziev (15-1, 10 KOs) didn’t make weight in a title bout but managed to out-fight David Stevens (14-2, 10 KOs) in a super middleweight fight held at 12 rounds.
Melikuziev used his movement and southpaw stance to keep Pennsylvania’s Stevens from being able to connect with combinations. But Stevens did show he could handle “The Bully’s” punching power over the 12-round fight.
After 12 rounds one judge favored Stevens 116-112, while two others saw Melikuziev the winner by split decision 118-110 and 117-111.
Super middleweight WBA titlist Darius Fulghum (13-0, 11 KOs) pummeled his way to a technical knockout win over southpaw veteran Chris Pearson (17-5-1, 12 KOs) who attempted the rope-a-dope strategy to no avail.
Fulghum floored Pearson in the first round with a four-punch combination and after that just belted Pearson who covered up and fired an occasional blow. Referee Mike Perez stopped the fight at 1:02 of the third round when Pearson did not fire back after a blazing combination.
Young welterweight prospect Joel Iriarte (5-0, 5 KOs) blasted away at the three-inch shorter Xavier Madrid (5-6, 2 KOs) who hung tough for as long as possible. At 2:50 of the first round a one-two delivered Madrid to the floor and referee Thomas Taylor called off the beating.
Iriarte, from Bakersfield, Calif., could not miss with left uppercuts and short rights as New Mexico’s Madrid absorbed every blow but would not quit. It was just too much firepower from Iriarte that forced the stoppage.
Photos credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy
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Results and Recaps from Turning Stone where O’Shaquie Foster Nipped Robson Conceicao
Top Rank was at the Turning Stone casino-resort in Verona, New York, tonight with an 8-bout card topped by a rematch between Robson Conceicao and O’Shaquie Foster with the victor retaining or recapturing his IBF world junior lightweight title. When the smoke cleared, the operative word was “recapturing” as Foster became a two-time title-holder, avenging his controversial setback to the Brazilian in Newark on July 6.
This was a somewhat better fight than their initial encounter and once again the verdict was split. Foster prevailed by 115-113 on two of the cards with the dissenting judge favoring Conceicao by the same margin. Conceicao seemingly had the edge after nine frames, but Foster, a 4/1 favorite, landed the harder shots in the championship rounds.
It was the thirteenth victory in the last 14 starts for Foster who fights out of Houston. A two-time Olympian and 2016 gold medalist, the 36-year-old Conceicao is 19-3-1 overall and 1-3-1 in world title fights.
Semi-wind-up
SoCal lightweight Raymond Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs) made a big jump in public esteem and moved one step closer to a world title fight with a second-round blast-out of Jose Antonio Perez who was on the canvas twice but on his feet when the fight was stopped at the 1:24 mark of round two. Muratalla, a product of Robert Garcia’s boxing academy, is ranked #2 by the WBC and WBO. A Tijuana native, Perez (25-6) earned this assignment with an upset of former Olympian and former 130-pound world titlist Jojo Diaz,
Other Bouts
Syracuse junior welterweight Bryce Mills, a high-pressure fighter with a strong local following, stopped scrawny Mike O’Han Jr whose trainer Mark DeLuca pulled him out after five one-sided rounds. Mills improved to 17-1 (6 KOs). It was another rough day at the office for Massachusetts house painting contractor O’’Han (19-4) who had the misfortune of meeting Abdullah Mason in his previous bout.
In a junior lightweight fight that didn’t heat up until late in the final round, Albany’s Abraham Nova (23-3-1) and Tijuana native Humberto Galindo (14-3-3) fought to a 10-round draw. It was another close-but-no- cigar for the likeable Nova who at least stemmed a two-fight losing streak. The judges had it 97-93 (Galindo), 96-94 (Nova) and 95-95.
Twenty-one-year-old Long Island middleweight Jahi Tucker advanced to 13-1-1 (6 KOs) with an eighth-round stoppage of Stockton’s teak-tough but outclassed Quilisto Madera (14-6). Madera was on a short leash after five rounds, but almost took it to the final bell with the referee intervening with barely a minute remaining in the contest. Madera was on his feet when the match was halted. Earlier in the round, Tucker had a point deducted for hitting on the break.
Danbury, Connecticut heavyweight Ali Feliz, one of two fighting sons of journeyman heavyweight Fernely Feliz, improved to 4-0 (3) with a second-round stoppage of beefy Rashad Coulter (5-5). Feliz had Coulter pinned against the ropes and was flailing away when the bout was halted at the 1:34 mark. The 42-year-old Coulter, a competitor in all manner of combat sports, hadn’t previously been stopped when competing as a boxer.
Featherweight Yan Santana dominated and stopped Mexico’s Eduardo Baez who was rescued by referee Charlie Fitch at the 1:57 mark of round four. It was the 12th knockout in 13 starts for Santana, a 24-year-old Dominican father of three A former world title challenger, Mexicali’s Baez declines to 23-7-2 but has lost six of his last eight.
In his most impressive showing to date, Damian Knyba, a six-foot-seven Pole, knocked out paunchy Richard Lartey at the 2:10 mark of round three. A right-left combination knocked Lartey into dreamland, but it was the right did the damage and this was of the nature of a one-punch knockout. Referee Ricky Gonzalez waived the fight off without starting a count.
Knyba, 28, improved to 14-0 (8 KOs). A native of Ghana coming off his career-best win, a fourth-round stoppage of Polish veteran Andrzej Wawrzyk, Lartey declined to 16-7 with his sixth loss inside the distance.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 303: Spotlights on Lightweights and More
Those lightweights.
Whether junior lights, super lights or lightweights, it’s the 130-140 divisions where most of boxing’s young stars are found now or in the past.
Think Oscar De La Hoya, Sugar Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather.
Floyd Schofield (17-0, 12 KOs) a Texas product, hungers to be a star and takes on Mexico’s Rene Tellez Giron (20-3, 13 KOs) in a 12-round lightweight bout on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada.
DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotion card that includes a female undisputed flyweight championship match pitting Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz and Gabriela Fundora.
Like a young lion looking to flex, Schofield (pictured on the left) is eager to meet all the other young lions and prove they’re not equal.
“I’ve been in the room with Shakur, Tank. I want to give everyone a good fight. I feel like my preparation is getting better, I work hard, I’ve dedicated my whole life to this sport,” said Schofield naming fellow lightweights Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
Now he meets Mexico’s Tellez who has never been stopped.
“I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” said Tellez.
Even in Las Vegas.
Verona, New York
Meanwhile, in upstate New York, a WBC junior lightweight title rematch finds Robson Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KOs) looking to prove superior to former titlist O’Shaquie Foster (22-3, 12 KOs) on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y. ESPN+ will stream the Top Rank fight card.
Last July, Conceicao and Foster clashed and after 12 rounds the title changed hands from Foster to the Brazilian by split decision.
“I feel that a champion is a fighter who goes out there and doesn’t run around, who looks for the fight, who tries to win, and doesn’t just throw one or two punches and then moves away,” said Conceicao.
Foster disagrees.
“I hope he knows the name of the game is to hit and not get hit. That’s the name of the game,” said Foster.
Also on the same card is lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla (21-0, 16 KOs) who fights Mexico’s Jesus Perez Campos (25-5, 18 KOs).
Perez recently defeated former world champion Jojo Diaz last February in California.
“We’re made for challenges. I like challenges,” said Perez.
Muratalla likes challenges too.
“I think these fights are the types of fights I need to show my skills and to prove I deserve those title fights,” said Fontana’s Muratalla.
Female Undisputed Flyweight Championship
WBA, WBC and WBO flyweight titlist Gabriela “La Chucky” Alaniz (15-1, 6 KOs meets IBF titlist Gabriela Fundora (14-0, 6 KOs) on Saturday Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. DAZN will stream the clash for the undisputed flyweight championship.
Argentina’s Alaniz clashed twice against former WBA, WBC champ Marlen Esparza with their first encounter ending in a dubious win for the Texas fighter. In fact, three of Esparza’s last title fights were scored controversially.
But against Alaniz, though they fought on equal terms, Esparza was given a 99-91 score by one of the judges though the world saw a much closer contest. So, they fought again, but the rematch took place in California. Two judges deemed Alaniz the winner and one Esparza for a split-decision win.
“I’m really happy to be here representing Argentina. We are ready to fight. Nothing about this fight has to do with Marlen. So, I hope she (Fundora) is ready. I am ready to prepare myself for the great fight of my life,” said Alaniz.
In the case of Fundora, the extremely tall American fighter at 5’9” in height defeated decent competition including Maria Santizo. She was awarded a match with IBF flyweight titlist Arely Mucino who opted for the tall youngster over the dangerous Kenia Enriquez of Mexico.
Bad choice for Mucino.
Fundora pummeled the champion incessantly for five rounds at the Inglewood Forum a year ago. Twice she battered her down and the fight was mercifully stopped. Fundora’s arm was raised as the new champion.
Since that win Fundora has defeated Christina Cruz and Chile’s Daniela Asenjo in defense of the IBF title. In an interesting side bit: Asenjo was ranked as a flyweight contender though she had not fought in that weight class for seven years.
Still, Fundora used her reach and power to easily handle the rugged fighter from Chile.
Immediately after the fight she clamored for a chance to become undisputed.
“It doesn’t get better than this, especially being in Las Vegas. This is the greatest opportunity that we can have,” said Fundora.
It should be exciting.
Fights to Watch
Sat. ESPN+ 2:50 p.m. Robson Conceicao (19-2-1) vs O’Shaquie Foster (22-3).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Floyd Schofield (17-0) vs Rene Tellez Giron (20-3); Gabriela Alaniz (15-1) vs Gabriela Fundora (14-0).
Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy
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