The father and trainer of Danny Garcia can't wait for his son to silence the doubters when Danny takes on unbeaten, unified World Welterweight Champion Errol Spence Jr. Saturday night on FOX Sports PPV.
Angel Garcia: "We're Gonna Expose Spence!"
Angel Garcia keeps score in his head—and it’s a score that never goes away.
He remembers every slight, every wary look, every morsel of criticism, every comment, every blog, every story and every award presentation of every amateur tournament in which his son, Danny “Swift” Garcia, ever fought.
Angel is tireless in his pursuit of his truth, what he thinks is right and won’t stop until he reaches that destination—and that’s the interminable quest, it seems, for Danny to get the respect in boxing that Angel thinks he deserves.
This newest installment comes against Errol Spence Jr. (26-0, 21 KOs) this Saturday, December 5 on FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.
You soon discover being close to Team Garcia, Danny (36-2, 21 KOs) may be the boxing star, the one who has his hand raised in the ring and brand recognition in international boxing circles, but it’s Angel, his father, who’s the star.
Father and son sporadically butt heads, but only because they’re so alike, akin to two magnets that repel each other when they get near. In the end, Danny always succumbs to his father’s wishes, out of deference, out of respect, mostly out of love.
What most boxing fans don’t see is how well adjusted Angel’s four children are. Angel made sure of that. He also made sure his children wouldn’t have to live the hard life he did. It’s why he’s so protective of Danny.
Despite his son’s success, Angel never quits pounding the Swift drum. Angel only has one speed—and that’s go-go-go, all the time, everywhere, whether it’s packing for his son’s championship fights, or in the meticulous way he does almost everything, like how he places towels down at ringside before Danny’s training sessions.
At 32, Danny, the former two-division champ, is 3-2 in his last five fights, suffering close, competitive defeats at the hands of Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter.
Angel understands the significance a Spence victory and how it would cement his son’s legacy.
“What keeps me going is my family: my daughters, my granddaughters, my family and Danny,” Angel said. “People don’t know me, and they’re going to see what they’re going to see. I don’t care. I know who I am.
“If I piss people off, so what. I tell the truth, and the truth never hurts me. What keeps me going every day is believing in God, because you have to believe in something. I wake up every morning filled with positive energy. I don’t try to stress myself out. I try to focus on me, because if I’m not healthy, I can’t help anyone else. Your roots are your family. You can’t let the world beat you over the head.
“As the root of this family, I have to be strong. But hey, I know people like drama. The fans love drama. They’re the ones you have to satisfy.”
In that regard, Angel does so in heaps.
Few see is how smart he is—cunning, like a fox. His conniving, flamboyant, over-the-top ways can be grating on an opponent. Or, in the case of Spence, humorous.
“ We know Spence is not Danny’s toughest opponent. ” Trainer - Angel Garcia
“I couldn’t wait to hear what Angel had to say (during the virtual press tour leading up to the fight),” said Spence in his slow, Texas drawl. “I don’t get angry. It doesn’t bother me. I think (Angel) is funny.”
One facet that can’t get lost about Danny Garcia is that he wins. In 2005, he won the under-19 nationals. In 2006, he took the U.S. nationals. His 107-13 amateur record is the foundation of his success—though if you talk to Angel, he’ll remember each one of the 13 losses more than any of the 107 victories.
Prior to his split-decision loss to Thurman on March 4, 2017, in Brooklyn, “Swift” was a teenager the last time he lost a fight, dropping a 26-12 points decision to Javier Molina way back on August 25, 2007, at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
“And Danny didn’t lose that fight,” Angel maintains to this day, 13 years later. “We’ve always struggled to get what was due to us. We know Spence is not Danny’s toughest opponent. Spence is a good fighter; I can’t take that from him. Danny is a great fighter.
“We’ve been fighting guys like this for years. We don’t worry about the hype. Listen to me, look at his resume. He’s only fought three names, Kell Brook, who is a big name with no chin, Mikey Garcia, who all he did was run, and then he fought Shawn Porter, which was a good fight.
“But Spence is nothing special to us. He’s not the most feared man in boxing. We’re not going out there handicapped. Danny has two fists. We don’t fear another man. We won’t let the media beat us over the head with lies, either. You have someone hiding behind a desk who never took a punch in their lives judging you. Spence is not the A-side. The only reason he is considered the A-side by the media is because we choose to go to Texas and fight him.”
Angel admits the old-school ways he came up with have been pushed away. He says he’s embraced science much more, to increase Danny’s endurance and punching power.
“Danny’s endurance is going to be great,” Angel vows. “We don’t rest a minute between rounds in sparring. It still gets me angry how we get treated, not like in a way I’m going to jump off a bridge, but Danny has won world titles, and has won titles in different weight classes.
“The politics of the sport get in the way. Danny is okay, because he’s rich. I know what Danny can do and he has to use his natural ability and show the world how good he is.
“The boxing world loves Danny. It’s the people behind the scenes, the politics that are against him. That might be because of me, but I don’t care. They don’t pay my bills. At the end of the day, they can all kiss my ass. Trust me, Danny will be the new champion.”
Angel is still keeping score.
For a closer look at Spence vs Garcia, check out our fight night page.
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