By Michael Marley
They’re still not speaking directly to each other but estranged brothers and first class boxing trainers Robert Garcia and Danny Garcia are both happy about a recent thaw in the family feud which centers around welterweight champion Vicious Victor Ortiz.
It was Robert Garcia who brought promising, 16 year old amateur fighter Ortiz to live and train in Oxnard, California. Another amateur prospect from Garden City, Kansas, named Brandon Rios also came to Oxnard to join Robert’s team of prospects.
But jealousy and infighting erupted between Rios, now a world champion still trained by Robert, and Ortiz, who opted to take Robert’s older brother Danny on as his trainer. Somewhere in this convoluted mix, Ortiz filed for bankruptcy and had a nasty split with Top Rank and then signed on with rival promoter Golden Boy.
The parents and the brothers and sisters of the two brothers got caught in the middle but sided with Robert.
“I am speaking to my Dad again (Eduardo),” Danny Garcia told me Tuesday after the Ortiz-Floyd Mayweather Jr. press conference at the Hudson Theatre. “My Dad called me after Victor beat (Andre) Berto, he said he was proud of me.”
On Monday, Roberto, who is prepping lightweight champ Rios for a title defense July 9 against Urbano Antillon, told me he was glad that his brother is at least speaking to his parents again.
“I know Danny called on Father’s Day and spoke to our Dad, that’s good,” Robert said.
Robert is a former IBF junior lightweight champion and highly successful trainer. Back when he was a world champ, Robert was co-trained by Poppa Garcia and Danny.
The Garcia family made its mark in amateur and pro boxing with its former fistic home, the La Colonia Gym in Oxnard.
Ferocious Fernando Vargas also was developed by Eduardo Garcia at that now gone gymnasium.
