Written by: Hector Sanchez / Photos by Ryan Hafey
Pushing aside any type of tune-up fight like most fighters would have done, Errol Spence, Jr., (26-0, 21KO's) the WBC and IBF Welterweight champion of the world is taking on a formidable foe in Danny Garcia (36-2, 21 KO's) this Saturday at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
There are many that have said that Danny Garcia is not a true welterweight, for instance Abel Sanchez, former trainer of Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KO's), current IBF middleweight champion and former unified middleweight champion of the world.
Trainer Sanchez favors Spence in this fight because not only is Spence a true welterweight, he is taller, and he has a four inch reach advantage and a better jab. He went on to say
“Danny is a very good fighter, and he’s given a lot of guys tough times. But I don’t think he’s on the level he used to be on. I don’t know if that same level is going to be there on Saturday night. And I see Errol being too big and too strong, Sanchez said. “I see Errol being just like Terence proved the week before that there are levels in this game, and those two guys are on different levels.
The complete opposite is being said by Angel Garcia, father and trainer of Garcia, the former WBC welterweight champion. Although Garcia has lost to Keith Thurman and
Shawn Porter, Angel said “We’ve been fighting guys like this for years. We don’t worry about the hype. Listen to me, look at his resume. He’s only fought three names, Kell Brook, who is a big name with no chin, Mikey Garcia, who all he did was run, and then he fought Shawn Porter, which was a good fight."
Angel followed that up by saying “Spence is nothing special to us. He’s not the most feared man in boxing. We’re not going out there handicapped. Danny has two fists. We don’t fear another man. We won’t let the media beat us over the head with lies, either. You have someone hiding behind a desk who never took a punch in their lives judging you. Spence is not the A-side. The only reason he is considered the A-side by the media is because we choose to go to Texas and fight him.”
As for Spence, he is very confident going into this fight, first by showing that he is willing to step into the ring against a top former welterweight champion, and by proving to himself that he hasn't lost a step since his automobile accident approximately a year ago.
He see's this as a wake up call and during a press conference, he said “Man, really, it was just a lot of hard work and a lot of discipline, you know, having my family and, you know, my parents and my coach [Derrick James], and people just supporting me. I wanted to get back and just train hard and stay in the gym and stay focused and, that’s basically, you know, what I did.”
A preview of Spence's conditioning can be seen at the following link:
The following predictions have been made by former world champions and trainers of world champions:
Keith Thurman, Former Unified World Welterweight Champion:
Spence W 12
Evander Holyfield, Boxing Legend and former Heavyweight Champion;
Spence W 12
Bernard Hopkins, Former middleweight champion:
Garcia UD 12
Mikey Garcia, Four-Division World Champion
Spence W 12
Ronnie Shields, Trainer of WBC World Middleweight Champion Jermall Charlo
Spence W 12
David Benavidez, Two-Time WBC World Super Middleweight Champion
Spence SD 12
Luis Collazo, Former World Welterweight Champion
Garcia KO 10
Abner Mares, Three-Division World Champion
Spence TKO 8
How to Watch Spence vs Garcia Weigh-In:
Date: Friday, Dec. 4 | Live on YouTube Location: AT&T Stadium - Arlington, TX
How to Watch Spence vs Garcia:
The fight begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and also will include unbeaten super welterweight sensation Sebastian "The Towering Inferno" Fundora taking on Jorge Cota in a WBC Super Welterweight Title Eliminator in the co-main event.
In addition to that, the fight card will also include Josesito "The Riverside Rocky" Lopez and Francisco "Chia" Santana squaring-off in a 10-round welterweight fight, in addition to former champion Julio Ceja faces featherweight contender Eduardo Ramirez in a WBC Featherweight Title Eliminator to kick off the pay-per-view.
