They say in boxing you’re only as good as your last fight. That saying is none more evident than with Brandon Rios; one of the fighters who is featured on the HBO’s October 13th card at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California. ThaBoxingVoice.com welcomed his head trainer, Robert Garcia to the show and he shared his sentiments on this topic and others.
Garcia is a hot name in boxing and is widely considered one of the best trainers in boxing, if not the best. But he too knows as his fighters go, he goes. That could not be clearer than with Brandon Rios’ last fight versus Richard Abril. “It was one of those fights where win or lose, there’s going to be so much bad publicity; those type of fighters that give you that type of fight and you’re never going to please anybody. After the fight that Rios is no good, he’s got no good coach. They forgot the Rios that beat (Urbano) Antillon, (Miguel) Acosta, and Anthony Peterson. I remember after that Antillon fight, everyone was saying Brandon was the best 135lber in the world. I remember Bob Arum saying that Brandon was in the mix for Pacquiao, Marquez, and Barrera. One bad fight and Rios is not good in the sport,” Garcia told ThaBoxingVoice.com.
According to Garcia and Brandon Rios, the Abril fight was forced upon them by their promotional company, Top Rank. They were in disagreements as far as Brandon being able to fight at 135 and if he didn’t have a belt, he couldn’t land those big names and big purses at 140 and 147. The struggle was tough for Brandon. Garcia explains, “Brandon tried and he got to a point where his body gave up. The night before, we were in sauna, we went together with Mike Alvarado. He went in at 137, got in the sauna stayed at 137, went to sleep and stayed at 137. We went through hell to make weight. His body just gave up.”
Fitting that the last time Brandon struggled to make weight, he shared the same sauna with his next opponent, Mike Alvarado. Many are pitting this fight as a contender for fight of the year. Garcia does not at all disagree. “At 140, he’s (Rios) going to come back and make a statement. We came out to get one of the best at 140 in Mike Alvarado. We could have easily gone to an easier fight but we picked the best. We pushed for Marquez, but it didn’t happen. So we decided our next option is Alvarado. Both are warriors, but we want to show the last fights at 135, we’re better than that. Now at 140, he’ll show everybody what they expect from Rios.”
We all expect a war. However for fighters like Rios and Alvarado, the shelf life is not ever lasting. Garcia as his head trainer expects this and knows that the next couple of years will be crucial for Brandon and his success in taking care of his family. “That’s something we’ve already talked with Brandon (Rios). I have the Donaire’s, the Mikey Garcia’s, and the world has the Mayweather’s that could be fighting till their 40’s and still winning titles. But there’s also the Rios’ and the Alvarado’s, whose careers won’t be that long but they will die in the ring to win a fight and please the crowd,” stated Garcia.
He loves every style of boxing and enjoys training every aspect of it. He knows Rios has a certain style and it would be foolish to change that, especially in his upcoming fight, where in his eyes could lead to a classic trilogy. “I can’t make everyone into a fighter like Mikey or Nonito. That’s boxing. Unless Alvarado has a plan of boxing for 10-12 rounds, then maybe it won’t be a war, but I doubt it. I think they both know what to expect, a war. It could be a fight that could lead to 2 or 3 fights with them, because it’s going to be so exciting that the whole world will want to see it again. We know that the body for fighters like this doesn’t last forever. We’re prepared for that. We’re going to do everything possible in the next 3 years to secure his (Rios) career and the rest of his life.”
For Full Audio of This Interview Click Here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thaboxingvoiceradioshow/2012/08/12/robert-garcia-marcus-watson-james-kirkland-ava-knight
