A man can dream. And in the vision of enthusiastic advisor Sean Gibbons, his Mexican fighters David Picasso and Willibaldo Garcia perform strongly in Saudi Arabia Saturday, with Picasso meeting the undisputed junior-featherweight champion Naoya Inoue of Japan and Garcia seeking to defend his IBF junior-bantamweight belt to set up an undisputed meeting with three-belt champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.
“David and Willibaldo are right on track. We’re very optimistic,” Gibbons told BoxingScene Wednesday as the hours creep towards Saturday’s card on DAZN.
The -2500 betting favorite Inoue, 31-0 (27 KOs), could clinch his second fighter-of-the-year campaign by dismissing the 25-year-old Picasso, 32-0-1 (17KOs), following victories over Ramon Cardenas and former unified champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
Picasso is the second-ranked 122lbs contender according to the WBC and he prepared for the task by defeating Kyonosuke Kameda of Japan on the Manny Pacquiao card in July.
“Put some respect on David Picasso’s name,” Gibbons said. “They’re already writing this guy off, giving him no shot. We know what we’re up against. It’s the monumental, Buster Douglas versus Mike Tyson [fight], the biggest upset in sports history if it happens. But you’ve got to be in it to win it and they’re overlooking him tremendously, which I love. That puts no pressure on you.”
Gibbons, who has guided Marlon Tapales of the Philippines, TJ Doheny of Australia and Ye Soon Kim of South Korea into bouts with Inoue, said Picasso offers the benefits of being from Mexico City.
“Mexico City guys are conditioned phenomenally. They live and train at altitude. He’s very schooled. It comes down to who’s better skilled Saturday, but one thing I can tell you is David’s heart, soul, drive and belief in winning is second to none,” Gibbons said.
The eye test is troubling in the matchup, considering the force of Inoue’s punches and the scrawny appearance of the taller Picasso.
“He’s not going to match Inoue in power. David’s not a power puncher. But some of the scariest dudes in this sport are the wiry, scrappy looking dudes who look like punks. All of a sudden, that punk is laying someone out,” Gibbons said. “David is a wiry, tall, lanky guy and that can play into his favor. He’s got his jab, got the distance, got the reach, got his hands tight to his body.
“The key to his victory is to close the gap, to get to Inoue’s body. Inoue’s never experienced real Mexican boxing where guys are banging. I’ve come at him with Marlon Tapales, TJ Doheny and others. Marlon had some success in pockets. Inoue’s boxing, speed, power, IQ is all there. For David to win, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. We’ll figure out what kind of punch David can take early on, and if he can take Inoue’s punches and keep walking him down, maybe he has a shot in there. We know Inoue has the full package. With David, we’re going to learn. What we know is he has 31 wins and no losses.”
Earlier, Gibbons’ 115lbs IBF champion Garcia, 23-6-2 (13 KOs), defends his belt versus Japan’s recent flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji, 25-2 (16 KOs), who lost his belts in July versus Ricardo Sandoval.
“This is Kenshiro’s first fight at 115 – he’s got the better technique and fundamentals. Willibaldo has none, and that is the hardest guy to fight in boxing. That dude can come from anywhere and everywhere,” Gibbons said.
Gibbons discovered Garcia, 36, when he lost a 2021 bout to former champion Paul Butler by split decision.
“He is the modern-day Mexican version of Rocky Balboa, a guy who was used as an opponent, just thrown in there, learning on the job,” Gibbons said. “I saw him fight on less than a week’s notice versus Paul Butler and saw this guy’s a fun guy… called a [trainer] to let me do what I do, work to get him in the rankings. Moved him to 115 three years ago, he won an IBF eliminator, got robbed in a title fight, won the rematch and here we are in Saudi Arabia, and he has the absolute chance to change his life and four generations of his family by winning and getting an undisputed shot at ‘Bam’ Rodriguez.”
It was Garcia’s birthday on Christmas Eve.
Winning Saturday and moving toward a “Bam” fight will make the week even more festive.
Gibbons is also suggesting Mexico’s Sebastian Hernandez has a chance to defeat Japan’s three-division champion Junto Nakatani in his 122lbs debut as Nakatani aims for a super-fight with Inoue in May at the Tokyo Dome.
Picasso’s father-trainer, Alfonso, is playing up the disrespect aimed at his son, the most prohibitive underdog.
“So that Inoue-Nakatani fight, I’d slow down until Saturday night is over,” Gibbons said.
