By Keith Idec
DALLAS – Errol Spence Jr. isn’t bothered by anyone that dismisses his fight Saturday night against Mikey Garcia as an ill-advised size mismatch.
Spence hasn’t taken Garcia lightly one bit during his recently completed training camp. As fight night nears, he is certain that the technically sound, intelligent Garcia can give him plenty of problems when they meet at AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington, Texas.
Spence gave Garcia plenty of respect while speaking to reporters Tuesday night following their “grand arrivals” at The Renaissance Dallas.
“A lot of real boxing people,” Spence said, “and the real fighters know how good Mikey is, skill-wise, talent-wise, and just, you know, overall experience. So, I feel like there’s a lot of casuals writing Mikey Garcia off. People that know their history, that really know boxing, know that this is a tough task. Mikey has real good skills, talent and has a good team behind him. As long as I’m not overlooking him, that’s all that matters.”
Odds-makers mostly have installed Spence as about a 4-1 favorite over Garcia. The 31-year-old Garcia is 39-0, including 30 knockouts, has won world titles in four weight classes and generally is considered one of the best boxers, pound-for-pound, in the entire sport.
Garcia stands 5-feet-6, though, four full inches shorter than Spence, a hard-hitting southpaw who has knocked out 88 percent of his professional opponents (24-0, 21 KOs). His obvious size advantage notwithstanding, Spence suspects Garcia has prepared to put on the performance of his life in their FOX Pay-Per-View main event.
“I give everybody the utmost respect and credit due,” Spence said. “If I’d have seen he looks scared, then I would’ve said something. You know, he’s just like a regular fighter. He’s daring to be great, wanting to be great. That’s all I see in his eyes. I don’t really see anything. I just see somebody that’s coming to fight.”
Garcia, of Oxnard, California, and Spence, of nearby DeSoto, Texas, will come face-to-face again Wednesday during their final press conference at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium. The press conference will air live on FS1, starting at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.