By Ernest Gabion
I contacted Robert Garcia, trainer of world class champions such as Brandon Rios and Nonito Donaire, to get his thoughts about a BoxingScene article where his brother Danny Garcia questioned whether or not Robert should get credit for the work he has done with his fighters. In the article, Danny states openly that it's their father, Eduardo, who gives Robert the gameplans for his fighter's fights. Well that didn't sit too well with Robert.
Here is what the former IBF Super Featherweight Champion had to say.
"Hey Ernie how are you doing? I glad you reached out to me. Yes I did see the article from my brother and I have a little advice for him since he thinks I can not think of my own gameplans. If my brother wants Victor Ortiz to win this fight he should become the boss in the corner. Simple as that. Don't give instructions that Victor wants to hear - give him the truth! If you have to get mad, scream, or even slap Victor in order for him to pay attention, then do it. You have to do it to get your fighter's respect Danny, because I don't see him respecting you. Danny, you know boxing but you want to keep Victor happy all the time and that's not how it is," Garcia told BoxingScene.com.
"Telling Victor what he wants to hear isn't going to make him a world champion. I mean come on now why would you advise Vic to box Peterson so he doesn't get hit, after Victor had him down twice, when we all know that's not Vic's style? He has to go after Berto, showing him no respect but keeping his guard up and head moving. Once he is close to him, tell Victor pick his punches wisely and believe in himself. Do this and Berto will go down. You follow this gameplan you have a world champion on your hands. But we all know that's up to them and we have all seen Victor in this situation before."
"Inside the ring it's only going to be Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto and Berto is a mean f*cker. But no worries Danny, all I have to do is wait for my check because I know it's going to be a good payday for me. You can do all this work while I can collect my money and enjoy some vacation time [Editor's Note: Robert gets a percentage from Ortiz's purse after a legal settlement]. But hey what do I know, I get my gameplans from our father right?"