Yesterday's opening press conference announcing Keith Thurman vs Danny Garcia went pretty much as expected. The promoter Lou DiBella spoke a little about the significance of the fight, Angel Garcia went batshit crazy, and the two fighters themselves spoke their piece.
Following the official presser Thurman took some time to sit down with reporters to answer some questions. Check out some excerpts below.
On the perception that he's vulnerable to the body:
"That's cool. You know, this is the thing...are they touching me and I'm just falling over? Nah. A good body shot is a good body shot. Oscar De La Hoya didn't get up from a good body shot...We saw Tito Trinidad get stopped by a good body shot...They're only putting together subjective ideas based on what they've seen in the ring. But it's not like they've watched me box since I was a kid, it's not like they've came into my gym and seen me in the ring with champions when I was 16 years old...I've been rocked before and I don't go down, I've been hit to the body and I don't go down. And if I was to go down, that's a 10-8 round. What matters is, do I get up? What matters is when I get up, can I handle myself?
"I'm mentally prepared to be knocked down, I'm a world class fighter...shit happens, it's a real fight, this is not a play sport."
On how confident he is that he can score a knockout against Danny Garcia's style:
"Well I do believe that his fighting style is a little bit more geared to allow me to sit down, I've worked on my footwork throughout the years preparing to be at this level, preparing for the endurance fights of the whole 12 round events, and making the smart decisions on how to win these 12 round fights...
"The preparation for this camp is a little different, we're digging a little harder, we're a little bit more hungry, we're a little bit more knockout focused - without being too knockout focused...It's the preparation, man. My head game is geared up for at least creating that knock down, giving Danny Garcia something he's never experienced before, but with these titles on the line, and with our careers on the line and our reputation and legacy on the line, of course I would love to come in here March 4th and give you guys a spectacular KO victory."
On Mayweather saying that he's ducking Errol Spence:
"I don't really pay attention to what Floyd says. Did Floyd pay attention to what the fans said when they were bringing up Manny Pacquiao? Did Floyd pay attention when they wanted him to fight Mosley when Mosley was younger?..There's a lot of people Floyd never acknowledged. He never acknowledged Paul Williams and Paul Williams was a beast at 147 and easily could've deserved a Floyd Mayweather fight...I was put into the mandatory position for the WBA title when Floyd fought Maidana, beat Maidana, rematch with Maidana - I'm the number one contender...I became a 'made' champion because the champion didn't want to face me...
"If you ask me, [Mayweather] owes me a fight still. Mothaf*cker, you owe me a fight."
On if Angel Garcia crossed the line during the press conference:
"I mean, it reminds me a little bit of the old school...there's a part of me that enjoys it just as much as he does. I enjoy the shit talk. We can talk shit all day...we can start throwing punches here at the press conference...that stuff don't phase me. But, to a degree, some of it is somewhat of a form of ignorance, and unnecessary..
"I think it's Angel that really just wants to try to stir the other opponent up as much as he can and really create stress within that fighter's mind or whatever, and really just give his son every advantage in the fight...but like I said before, this is the third father/son combination I'm going up against, this one is back to back now, and I've been here, I've done that...words are words, what they do in the ring, that's what matters...."