:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/3907933/119481013.0.jpg)
Famed strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, whose boxing work has included Manny Pacquiao, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Amir Khan, and Jorge Linares, has been hired by Mikey Garcia's team to work with the emerging featherweight contender as he prepares for his first world title shot on January 19.
Garcia will face Orlando Salido in the HBO main event that night, live from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
24-year-old Garcia (30-0, 26 KO) was originally scheduled to face Salido (39-11-2, 27 KO) on November 10, but Salido pulled out of that date with an injury. Garcia faced and defeated Jonathan Barros instead, defeating him via eighth round TKO. The Salido fight was then quickly rescheduled, as fans had hoped it would be.
Ariza is currently in camp with Pacquiao, who faces Juan Manuel Marquez on December 8, and won't work with Garcia until after his work there is complete.
Ariza says he's only going to be working with Mikey, so other fighters in Oxnard under trainer Robert Garcia's care -- including Brandon Rios, Kelly Pavlik, and Marcos Maidana -- aren't in the picture for Ariza just yet. That could conceivably come into play later, but for now, he's only working for the upcoming Mikey Garcia camp.