Thurman Trainer: Keith is Faster, Stronger, Smarter Than Garcia

By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – While Angel Garcia was busy screaming and insulting Keith Thurman, Dan Birmingham hardly said a word during their press conference last week at Barclays Center.

Thurman’s trainer never has been a trash talker, thus he mostly sat back and watched Danny Garcia’s father/trainer make one inflammatory comment after another as the promotion of the Thurman-Garcia welterweight title unification fight officially began. Birmingham was much more respectful of Danny Garcia than Angel Garcia was when discussing Thurman, but Birmingham made it perfectly clear that Garcia is an underdog for good reason in advance of their March 4 showdown at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (CBS).

“I think it is a difficult fight,” Birmingham told BoxingScene.com. “Danny Garcia’s a great fighter. I acknowledge that. But at the end of the day, I think I have the best welterweight in the world right there in Keith Thurman. I think he’s a little bit faster, I think he’s a little bit stronger and I think he’s a little bit smarter. And I think his will to win is unmatched.”

Birmingham believes one of Thurman’s biggest advantages is that the Clearwater, Florida, native has spent his entire nine-year pro career as a welterweight. Philadelphia’s Garcia (33-0, 19 KOs), who spent much of his nine-year pro career as a 140-pound fighter, will fight for just the fourth time as a full-fledged 147-pounder when he meets Thurman.

“It means that we have the edge in strength,” Birmingham said. “We’re the bigger guy, which means we can take a better shot, give a better shot.”

Birmingham wasn’t at all surprised that Angel Garcia took huge verbal shots at Thurman (27-0, 22 KOs), the WBA world welterweight champion, during the press conference last week. Like Thurman, however, Birmingham wasn’t truly bothered by Angel Garcia’s disgraceful antics at Barclays Center.

“I expected it, actually,” said Birmingham, who previously trained Winky Wright, Chad Dawson and Jeff Lacy. “You have to put yourself in his shoes. That’s his son. When your son’s a fighter, it’s a little different between a father and son. There’s more emotion involved, so I expected that. … He rambles on a little bit too much, but this is a game of talking. You just expect it.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.