Unified Super Lightweight World Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia and his father/trainer Angel Garcia opened their Philadelphia training camp for the media on Wednesday as they prepare for their upcoming showdown against power-punching Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse.
Garcia (26-0, 20 KO’s) will defend his WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Titles against WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Matthysse (34-2, 32 KO’s) in the 12-round co-featured bout of “THE ONE” MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO” on Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The fight will be produced and televised live on SHOWTIME PPV®.
Also joining the Garcia family at newly opened DSG Boxing Gym was boxing legend and Golden Boy Promotions Partner Bernard Hopkins .
Here’s what the participants had to say on Wednesday:
DANNY “SWIFT” GARCIA:
“This fight is very exciting for me. We are part of the biggest night in boxing and I will be ready. I feel like I was born for this – fighting at this level on the biggest stage in boxing.
“Every fight is important to me. I am training as I always do but I have a new gym so it is nice to be able to train in privacy. What better way to invest in my future in boxing than investing in my own gym. We built in the same neighborhood where my Dad grew up. We are Philly through and through. I love having my own gym.
“As for Matthysse, he has power but I have power, too. I fought a lot of guys with power. Trust me, I plan to take away his power, make him miss and make him pay.
“If he [Matthysse] opens up early to try to get me out of there, trust me, he’s making a big mistake. He tries that and the fight’s going to be over quickly!
“I’m not going to skip anything for this fight in training. I am going to work just as hard. I know what I have to do September 14, and I plan to do it the right way, the smart way.
“To me Matthysse is just a regular fighter. He already has two losses. I don’t consider him one of the best. He doesn’t even have a world title and when he fought for one,he lost. Let’s see what happens when I show him different looks, back him up, work angles. I can fight backing up. Can he?
“I thought his fight with [Zab] Judah was a close fight. I know I can’t make this a close fight. I am going to stick to my fight plan, give him different looks and be smart. I’m definitely not going to give him something easy. He’s going to have to earn anything he gets in the ring that night. Let’s see if he knows how to earn it.
“It doesn’t matter who’s stronger. It’s who’s smarter. I always find a way to win.
“I definitely learn every time I get in the ring. I learned a lot in the Judah fight. Things changed quickly but I was happy for the experience. It taught me a lot.
“I think this fight will give me a new level of respect. I feel that after this fight I am going to show people I am one of the best 140-pounders to ever put on a pair of gloves.”
ANGEL GARCIA:
“My job is not to worry about Matthysse. I am not worried. He doesn’t put fear in me. His coach doesn’t put fear in me. His people don’t put fear in me. His country doesn’t put fear in me. Nobody puts fear in me. The only one I fear is God.
“Nobody is beating us, not right now, not tomorrow and not in the future. Believe this, on September 14, Matthysse is going to get his ass whooped.
“Danny is the most underrated champion there is and I am the most underrated trainer. But it doesn’t matter to me. As long as I know and as long as Danny knows and we’re happy, then I don’t care what the world says.
“You can love me or hate me but it doesn’t matter. I believe in me and I believe in Danny. I always tell Danny that hard work and dedication pay the bills.
“I’m not going to look to Floyd Mayweather yet because we have Matthysse first. We are going to worry about Matthysse. Floyd has Canelo, so they have got to worry about each other.
“You never underestimate. Never, never, never take the cake and eat it before you light the candles. I’m not going to worry about Floyd. He has his own thing and Danny has his own thing. We are going to worry about Matthysse and September 14.
“The fans should be glad and happy for such a stacked main and co-main event on PPV. The fans should be happy and love all four of them. They shouldn’t hate one and love the others; they should love all of them. This is about the fans. The fans will get the benefit.
“Matthysse is going to lose September 14. We aren’t coming to lose. The best man will win and it’s going to be Danny.
“In the fight, I think Matthysse will come out, try to prove a point and try to get into Danny’s head as the killer. But he’s not a killer, he has nothing. He isn’t a killer.”
BERNARD HOPKINS:
“It’s important that this fight is happening. It’s happening at the right time. That is a really, really exciting event with a massive card that is bringing a lot of attention. And then you add Danny Garcia and Matthysse and it makes it even better.
“This is a fight that I see as 50/50. I get asked all the time in fights who I think is going to win and who I think has the better chin. This is a fight that is not going to go 12 rounds. And if it does go 12 rounds, I don’t think either fighter is going to be the same in whatever he does next. That’s how important this fight is to the fans but also in the careers of the two fighters.
“There are big things after this fight and the winner will finally be the undisputed champion in that division. Right now, I think it is Danny Garcia, who has three major titles. So he is, right now, the guy to beat at that weight division.
“I think this fight boils down to who has the better strategy, the better chin and who can adapt and change strategy in the course of the race. This is the type of fight where both fighters must be on top of their game. Danny’s weaknesses must be kept to a minimum. Matthysse’s weaknesses must be kept to a minimum.”
“THE ONE: MAYWEATHER VS. CANELO,” a 12-round fight for Canelo’s WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Welterweight World Championships and Mayweather’s WBA Super Welterweight Super World Championship taking place Saturday, Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, Golden Boy Promotions and Canelo Promotions and sponsored by Corona, O’Reilly Auto Parts, AT&T, Valvoline, Mexico Tourism, Fred Loya Insurance and Nature Nutrition. In the 12-round co-featured attraction, WBC, WBA Super and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia and thunderous punching WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Champion Lucas Matthysse square off in a fight presented in association with Swift Promotions and Arano Box Promotions. The mega-event will be produced and distributed live by SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The event can be heard in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP).
Less than 24 hours after going on sale on June 25, the event was sold out, but six MGM Resorts properties will host live closed circuit telecasts of “THE ONE.” Properties showcasing the event include ARIA, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Monte Carlo and New York-New York. General admission tickets for the closed circuit telecasts are priced at $100, not including handling fees, and are available for purchase at each individual property’s box office outlets and also are available for purchase by phone with a major credit card at 866-799-7711. Closed circuit ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. Tickets also will be available through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
