Garcia vs. Herrera: Garcia claims he won't be distracted by fighting at home

Boxing history has been filled with countless examples of boxers suffering a letdown when fighting in front of their hometown. Cory Spinks once drew over 22,000 fans in St. Louis to see him fight Zab Judah (and rap with Nelly) then lost his welterweight crown via stoppage. Not long after, Judah himself dropped the title to Carlos Baldomir when fighting in front of his hometown, New York. When Davey Moore was defeated by Roberto Duran in 1983, some speculated that Moore entered the ring psychologically bothered when his New York fans chanted more for Duran than him.

Danny Garcia may not have been born in Puerto Rico, but he is of Puerto Rican heritage. Nothing would please the young champion more than to hear the local fans cheering him on approvingly from the stands. It's why there is reasonable cause to wonder if Garcia could enter the ring for his next fight against Mauricio Herrera on March 15 in less than top condition.

A boxer bears more promotional work for a homecoming fight. There will be more microphones, hands to shake, and fake smiles than ever before. It's thrown many people off, but Garcia insist that he will be ready like always in a report from Boxing Scene's David Greisman.

"I train hard for every fight. I put 110 percent in the gym. All I know is hard work and dedication. I know what I bring to the fight. I know how hard I work in the gym. No matter who believes in me and who thinks I'm going to win and who thinks I'm not going to win in future or past fights, I know what I'm capable of doing. I know how hard I work in the gym. And that's why every time, at the end of the fight, I come out victorious, because I know the pain and sacrifice that I put my body through to win these fights."

There will be additional promotional duties that come with this role for Garcia in this location. But again, he brushed off the potential implications.

"We're not going to get distracted. We know what we got to do. We're going to do the same thing we always do. We're going to stay focused until fight night, and then we're going to get the job done, and then after that we can make the trips and go visit whoever we want to visit."