Trainer Robert Garcia goes 2 for 2 in early 2011
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 28 Feb 2011
Robert Garcia is on a roll. First it was Nonito Donaire?s jaw-dropping victory via a 2nd round TKO of Fernando Montiel to win his bantamweight titles then came Brandon Rios? with a win over Miguel Acosta for the WBA lightweight belt. And an impressive win at that too. That from a come-from-behind surge that saw Rios? dropping his opponent three times to the canvas ending with a 10th round TKO at the Palms Resort in Las Vegas. Both fighters share one thing in common. They train under the same man, former boxing champ turned trainer, Robert Garcia of Oxnard, California.
In back to back weeks, he guided his two fighters in back to back wins for a title belt. In fights that were broadcasted on two major cable networks, HBO and Showtime, he gets a share of the limelight as his fighters post major wins. This early, the former champ turned trainer is poised for a great year. He also is getting recognition this early as a leading candidate for the much coveted ?Trainer of the year? award. An award that the famous Freddie Roach won five times, of which three was consecutively won dating back to 2008. If Garcia?s fighters keep their winning ways in 2011, he definitely will be amongst the finalist for the coveted award next year.
The other recognizable fighter in the Garcia stable is Antonio Margarito. He still has no fights scheduled for this year but rumors are that he will be facing Miguel Cotto in the summer if Cotto gets past his March 12 fight with Ricardo Mayorga. Margarito underwent surgery to repair a fractured right orbital bone which he suffered from the November 2010 loss to Many Pacquiao. If Margarito is cleared to fight and wins like his other stable mates most especially the rematch with Cotto, that would greatly benefit Garcia as well. If by then Donaire and Rios are still title holders and Margarito ends up beating Cotto, presuming Cotto still holds the super welterweight belt, Garcia will then have three world champions in his gym at the same time. That will surely help his cause to being the one to beat for the said award . But even without Margarito, Garcia has started to fill his resume with wins this early.
The award which is given annually by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) is the only individual award given recognizing a trainer?s accomplishments. Accomplishments that are earned via the body of work a trainer does with his boxer or boxers. The more victorious his fighter or fighters are, the more credit the trainer gets with each wins. And with two championship wins this early, Garcia has indeed a hot start for the year.
Boxing is an individual sport. The belts, the recognition, the awards are for the fighter alone which is rightfully so. But behind each fighter is a mentor who is a wealth of knowledge and experience on which the fighter draws from. Someone who plans and prepares with the fighter in the gym and who instructs his fighter in the ring. Not only is coaching applicable to team sports, it also is pertinent to any individual sports such as boxing. It is what Robert Garcia, the former super featherweight champ of the world does now, and he is proving to be good at it.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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