WASHINGTON – Hector Luis Garcia began to believe in 2021 that the enormous moment that awaits him Saturday night would never arrive.
The 2016 Dominican Olympian had trained in the United States since 2018, first in Miami with Luis Perez and later in Riverside, California, under the tutelage of Robert Garcia. He still didn’t have an American promoter and wondered whether his dream simply might never materialize.
“There were countless times when I was very discouraged,” Garcia told BoxingScene.com, “because all I wanted was an opportunity, and the opportunity never came.”
It wasn’t until 11 months ago, not long after he moved to Las Vegas to train, that Garcia got the call he so desperately wanted.
Roger Gutierrez, then the WBA super featherweight champion, contracted COVID-19 during training camp for his fight against unbeaten contender Chris Colbert. Garcia didn’t hesitate to replace Gutierrez and accepted the Colbert bout on less than three weeks’ notice.
That decision initiated the best year of Garcia’s professional life.
He battered Brooklyn’s Colbert (16-1, 6 KOs), whom the southpaw dropped in the seventh round on his way to a surprisingly easy, 12-round, unanimous-decision win last February 26 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Winning that elimination match earned Garcia a shot at Gutierrez (26-4-1, 20 KOs), whom he also out-pointed relatively easily August 20 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Eight months after his first fight with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions, Garcia became a world champion. Four months following his victory over Venezuela’s Gutierrez, he’ll challenge one of boxing’s biggest stars, Gervonta Davis, in a Showtime Pay-Per-View main event at Capital One Arena ($74.99; 9 p.m. ET).
“The last year has been extraordinary,” said Garcia, who has a 6-year-old daughter who resides in his home country. “Coming to America and being signed by an American promoter, it did cost me a lot. I have a family in the DR and I wasn’t making money. So, obviously that was a sacrifice. And then there were the sacrifices I made by being apart from my family. It was a lot of sacrifices, but obviously it finally paid off.”
The 31-year-old Garcia took up boxing at 14 in his hometown of San Juan de la Maguana. He had over 300 amateur fights, which culminated with Garcia representing the Dominican Republic at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Belarus’ Dzmitry Asanau eliminated Garcia in the opening round, which nearly caused Garcia to walk away from the sport prior to making his pro debut.
“It was a very controversial decision and I was eliminated,” Garcia said. “During that time, I really considered quitting. Thankfully, during that time I had family around me and a team around me that loved me. They motivated me to stick to it. Thanks to them and thanks to God, we’re here.”
Fifteen of Garcia’s first 16 professional fights, including two of his three no-contests, were held in Santo Domingo. It wasn’t until December 2021, when he unanimously out-pointed Mexico’s Isaac Avelar in an eight-rounder at The Armory in Minneapolis, that one of Garcia’s fights was broadcast on American television.
Three fights later, the humble champion credits his head trainer, Bob Santos, for guiding him into this position.
“He’s meant a lot,” Garcia said. “He’s truly helped me get to this point. I wouldn’t be here without him.”
Garcia (16-0, 10 KOs, 3 NC) might’ve won some “Fighter of the Year” awards for 2022 had unbeaten WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol not defeated former pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez and previously undefeated former WBO super middleweight champ Gilberto Ramirez in back-to-back bouts last year. Handicappers have still made Baltimore’s Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) a 14-1 favorite to beat Garcia in their 12-round fight for Davis’ WBA world lightweight title.
“That doesn’t affect me at all,” Garcia said. “It was the same thing when I fought Colbert [initially a 25-1 favorite]. And actually, I feel like there were more people against me before that fight.”
Capital One Arena figures to be full of Davis’ fans from Baltimore and the DMV. If the popular knockout artist wins, he is expected to fight rival Ryan Garcia next in what would be one of the most profitable, marketable matchups in boxing.
Hector Luis Garcia can ruin Davis-Ryan Garcia by pulling off another upset in what is far and away the highest-profile fight of his six-year pro career. Based on where he was this time only a year ago, a grateful Garcia has tried to enjoy every bit of this enormous moment he wasn’t sure would ever arrive.
“I come from a very small province in the Dominican Republic,” Garcia said. “I’ve had to earn everything I’ve gotten. So now, this is a great opportunity that I have to take advantage of and be ready to capitalize on, because they don’t come often.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
