Mikey Garcia (39-0, 30 KO) is set to move up in weight yet again, as the four-division titleholder challenges IBF welterweight titlist Errol Spence Jr (24-0, 21 KO) this Saturday night on FOX pay-per-view.
The fighters met up at their final presser on Wednesday, and Garcia also spoke with reporters after it was over.
On “taking the fight to the streets”:
“(Spence) changed his opinion on a few occasions. Maybe just the wording, I don’t know what it is. At first he said it was going to be a dirty fight a few weeks ago when we did the face off. Then he changed his opinion after that, said he was ready to go 12 rounds, he was ready. He changed his words, changed his attitude. Then he said he was ready to knock me out. I don’t know. A lot of things might be going wrong in his head right now. I know I’m ready to do whatever it takes to win. We did all the work in the gym, my training camp was a success, I’m ready to do whatever it takes to win this fight. There’s nobody that’s going to tell me about fighting that my brother and dad haven’t already told me. There’s no experience that I haven’t already gained from my dad and my brother. Being that we come from a humble background, rough streets, the attitude is there, the heart is there. My heart’s in it. I’m just ready to do what I gotta do Saturday night.”
On meeting Roberto Duran:
“Oh, I told him it was a pleasure and honor to meet him. I had never met him. He said it was a pleasure for him to meet me! I said, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Yes. I follow you.’ He’s a fan of mine, I had no idea. So I kept talking to him, like, ‘Wow.’ His son’s here, too. ... Of course (I was a fan of his). It’s just one of those things where I look up to you, and all of a sudden you follow me.”
On following Duran’s foot steps:
“I’m trying to make my own history. That feat is accomplished by doing what he did. That’d be pretty cool if I can do that and be included in that small list of names. That’d be special.”
On the pressure of the fight being on Spence:
“I don’t know if he feels any pressure. ... Being that it’s a big fight in a stadium here, his hometown crowd, he might be feeling it. I don’t know. You’d probably have to ask him. I feel comfortable. I’m excited. I’m glad that we could get this fight. This fight is going to add to that legacy.”
On his trainer/brother Robert being older and avoiding sibling rivalry:
“My brother is, like, 12 years older than me. It’s a great relationship. I think what benefits us the most is he was also champion. He knows what it’s like to be in training camp, he knows what it’s like to do all the work, all the training, to do it in the ring — he has all that experience. Then to become this great trainer — listening to my dad, learning from my dad. I think that’s what helps the most. We have a great relationship, but it’s (Robert’s) experience as a fighter and now as a trainer that has helped us. ... No, there was never (a sibling rivalry). You can’t compare us. It’s a different time, different career. I have probably a better career now because of what he went through. Because of his experiences as a fighter, I’m able to make better decisions in my career. It’s unfair to compare the two.’