By Ryan Burton
World class trainer Robert Garcia was in the running to train Julio César Chávez Jr. (50-2-2) for his showdown against fellow Mexican Canelo Álvarez (48-1-1). The clash, which will be fought at a catch weight of 164.5 pounds, takes place on May 6th at the T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas strip.
Garcia, who trains a deep stable of fighters, had logistical concerns in training Chávez. Garcia's brother Mikey is planning to return to the ring in the summer and WBA featherweight champion Abner Mares is expected to finalize his next fight soon.
Chavez's preference in training in México likely wouldn't have worked with the schedule of Garcia's other fighters.
Chávez will instead enlist the services of legendary Mexican trainer Nacho Beristain, who is the trainer of Juan Manuel Márquez and has also trained the likes of Ricardo "Finito" Lopez, Rafael Márquez and several others. Also at Chavez's side is strength and conditioning coach Angel "Memo" Heredia, who's known for his work with Marquez, Badou Jack, Lucian Bute, Jean Pascal, and several others.
Even though he doesn't have a dog in the fight, Garcia expects a great fight and believes the animosity between the two rivals will lead to a great fight.
"It is a great fight. Especially for all the Mexican fans. It is a fight that the fans want. It is going to be huge. Even though Chávez hasn't looked that great these past few fights, it is against Canelo so it's a big rivalry.
"The father and the family don't want to lose to somebody like Canelo and Canelo doesn't want to lose to Chávez so I think it's a great fight. I think they are both going to be in great shape," Garcia told BoxingScene.com.
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