The popularity of Freddie Roach and the Wildcard gym seems to be decreasing with a couple of high-profile losses and close calls last year. Stepping into his place is the up and coming trainer out of Oxnard, Robert Garcia . As should be mentioned, he won the Bad Left Hook trainer of the year amongst other lesser honors. Today an interesting prospect, Chris Algieri signed Robert Garcia to be his head trainer according to Boxing Scene. Algieri is currently 13-0 (6 KO) and has fought most of his fights around the junior welterweight limit. Also Algieri comes from kickboxing where he amassed a professional record of 20-0.
From the very limited footage I could find on Algieri, he seems to be a tall junior welterweight (5'10") who does a fair bit of damage on the inside when he gets there. He works his way in with the jab and a high guard, then starts to blast away with short hooks to the head and body. Since his fights take place in New York, I imagine either brickhaus or Matt Mosley may have some words to say about him as well.
Both Algieri and his manager are very excited about the move.
"Robert Garcia is one of the best trainers in boxing and I'm thrilled that we'll be working together. He's got a stable of elite fighters and I'm looking to fit in with his program. Keith Trimble and Tim Lane will remain in my corner and Garcia will be taking over as the lead. I'll be coming to California with the goal to perfect my craft as a prize fighter, and take my career to the next level."
Damian Ramirez, who co-manages Algieri with Humberto Romero, added, "I believe this is a great move for Chris as he moves forward with his career. His current trainers will stay on board and Robert will add to their foundation. Chris will be seeing different looks in Oxnard and I know Robert Garcia can bring something new to his approach. I'm working on getting Chris back in the ring by April."
I don't know if this is going to be a trend, but Garcia is amassing a decent stable of tall fighters. I know that Emmanuel Steward used to be the go to guy if you were a tall fighter; maybe the torch has been passed to Garcia.