It should have been a celebratory news conference to kick off the promotion for one of the best fights that can be made in boxing, a welterweight unification fight between undefeated world titleholders Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia.
Instead, it devolved into a disgraceful mess -- and a near brawl -- because of the unhinged antics of Angel Garcia, Danny's father and trainer, who was even more over the top and profane than usual.
While Thurman (27-0, 22 KOs) and Danny Garcia (33-0, 19 KOs), both came to Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday to properly hype their big-time fight on March 4, Angel Garcia was out of control and embarrassed himself, his son and, by extension, boxing.
Before Angel's ridiculous rampage, Showtime Sports boss Stephen Espinoza announced that the fight will be televised live on CBS in prime time (9 p.m. ET) to a far wider audience than if it had been on sister premium cable network Showtime. That turn of events is due to the hard work of Espinoza and CBS executives, which all boxing fans should appreciate.
The fight will be the second prime-time boxing event on CBS in the past year, after Thurman's exciting decision win against former titleholder Shawn Porter in June in a fight of the year candidate. But before that, the last time CBS televised a prime-time bout was nearly 40 years ago.
But Angel Garcia's disgusting outburst was so out of bounds I couldn't blame CBS if it no longer wanted to associate itself with the sport. Boxing is struggling enough. It has a lifeline from CBS, and Angel Garcia did his best to eviscerate it.
Seated next to his son on the dais, the elder Garcia, who has been known to regularly say ludicrous things at news conferences, was way worse than usual as he screamed the N-word numerous times at Thurman, who is African-American. He hollered anti-gay language. He threw out a multitude of other curse words. He made a fool of himself yelling to nobody in particular negative things about immigrants and asking where Donald Trump was.
When longtime boxing publicist Kelly Swanson, who has handled hundreds of news conferences with utter professionalism, tried to restore order and told Garcia to be quiet, he threatened to hit her by screaming, "I’ll jack you up." Very classy.
A brawl nearly erupted between the camps when some of Garcia's camp appeared to rush the dais, but order was restored and Angel Garcia was restrained.
It was the most despicable thing I have seen in nearly two decades of covering boxing, and his outburst ruined a chance for the sport to be put in a good light.
Promoter Lou DiBella was extremely ticked off, tweeting after the news conference: "N-words, homophobic epithets and anti-immigrant rhetoric have no place at a boxing press conference (or anywhere else)."
DiBella later told ESPN.com that he spoke to Al Haymon, manager of Garcia and Thurman, about the matter and they agreed that nobody from either of the fighters' teams will be allowed on the dais at the final news conference during fight week.
"Angel Garcia won't have the opportunity to do that again," DiBella said. "He won't have a microphone, nor should he after what he did."
And who knows whether Angel Garcia will even be allowed in his son's corner. I think he should be suspended and not allowed to work the fight, but that will be up to the New York State Athletic Commission, which is responsible for licensing fighters and their trainers.
"The New York State Athletic Commission does not in any way condone or excuse Mr. Garcia's words and actions," the commission said in a statement given to ESPN.com. "Angel Garcia is not a licensee of the Commission and, therefore, is not subject to its jurisdiction at this time. In the event Mr. Garcia pursues a license with the State Athletic Commission, this incident and all relevant information will be reviewed and this matter would be revisited in that context."
The WBC, whose title Danny Garcia holds, also was upset by Angel's antics.
"The WBC is extremely concerned with the behavior and actions showcased by Mr. Angel Garcia, who is the trainer of WBC welterweight champion Danny Garcia, during the press conference for the highly anticipated fight between Danny Garcia and Keith Thurman," WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said in a statement.
"The WBC prides itself for its battle against apartheid, in which South Africa was banned from boxing for 19 years, and our constant rejection to any sort of discrimination and abuse of power. The WBC condemns the foul language, the discriminatory threats, and the very dangerous actions which could have led to a riot and personal injuries during this presentation.
"The WBC has no jurisdiction over licensing of trainers, which is a matter that corresponds to the local boxing authorities. However, the WBC code of ethics and constitution, rules and regulations, emphatically reject these actions, which cannot be tolerated in our sport. The WBC respects and has always enjoyed a very respectful relationship with Mr. Angel Garcia in the past, and the WBC will hold a meeting in person or by teleconference next week through the WBC administrative process and protocol. Boxing is a sport of contact, but it is a noble one and fighters are role models for the youth of the world with countless exemplary actions of fair play, respect, unity, humanity and brotherhood.
"Garcia versus Thurman is a very important fight between two undefeated champions, which brings the best of our sport, and the attention must be fully into this great event and the two fighters putting their future on the line."
If boxing had a central authority -- a commissioner's office, for example -- Angel Garcia would be suspended and fined for his lowly actions. It doesn't, however, and raving lunatics usually get away with anything. Hopefully, though, the New York commission and the WBC will do whatever they can, to the maximum, to teach him that what he did has no place in boxing -- or society.
Article courtesy of Dan Rafael - ESPN
Instead, it devolved into a disgraceful mess -- and a near brawl -- because of the unhinged antics of Angel Garcia, Danny's father and trainer, who was even more over the top and profane than usual.
While Thurman (27-0, 22 KOs) and Danny Garcia (33-0, 19 KOs), both came to Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday to properly hype their big-time fight on March 4, Angel Garcia was out of control and embarrassed himself, his son and, by extension, boxing.
Before Angel's ridiculous rampage, Showtime Sports boss Stephen Espinoza announced that the fight will be televised live on CBS in prime time (9 p.m. ET) to a far wider audience than if it had been on sister premium cable network Showtime. That turn of events is due to the hard work of Espinoza and CBS executives, which all boxing fans should appreciate.
The fight will be the second prime-time boxing event on CBS in the past year, after Thurman's exciting decision win against former titleholder Shawn Porter in June in a fight of the year candidate. But before that, the last time CBS televised a prime-time bout was nearly 40 years ago.
But Angel Garcia's disgusting outburst was so out of bounds I couldn't blame CBS if it no longer wanted to associate itself with the sport. Boxing is struggling enough. It has a lifeline from CBS, and Angel Garcia did his best to eviscerate it.
Seated next to his son on the dais, the elder Garcia, who has been known to regularly say ludicrous things at news conferences, was way worse than usual as he screamed the N-word numerous times at Thurman, who is African-American. He hollered anti-gay language. He threw out a multitude of other curse words. He made a fool of himself yelling to nobody in particular negative things about immigrants and asking where Donald Trump was.
When longtime boxing publicist Kelly Swanson, who has handled hundreds of news conferences with utter professionalism, tried to restore order and told Garcia to be quiet, he threatened to hit her by screaming, "I’ll jack you up." Very classy.
A brawl nearly erupted between the camps when some of Garcia's camp appeared to rush the dais, but order was restored and Angel Garcia was restrained.
It was the most despicable thing I have seen in nearly two decades of covering boxing, and his outburst ruined a chance for the sport to be put in a good light.
Promoter Lou DiBella was extremely ticked off, tweeting after the news conference: "N-words, homophobic epithets and anti-immigrant rhetoric have no place at a boxing press conference (or anywhere else)."
DiBella later told ESPN.com that he spoke to Al Haymon, manager of Garcia and Thurman, about the matter and they agreed that nobody from either of the fighters' teams will be allowed on the dais at the final news conference during fight week.
"Angel Garcia won't have the opportunity to do that again," DiBella said. "He won't have a microphone, nor should he after what he did."
And who knows whether Angel Garcia will even be allowed in his son's corner. I think he should be suspended and not allowed to work the fight, but that will be up to the New York State Athletic Commission, which is responsible for licensing fighters and their trainers.
"The New York State Athletic Commission does not in any way condone or excuse Mr. Garcia's words and actions," the commission said in a statement given to ESPN.com. "Angel Garcia is not a licensee of the Commission and, therefore, is not subject to its jurisdiction at this time. In the event Mr. Garcia pursues a license with the State Athletic Commission, this incident and all relevant information will be reviewed and this matter would be revisited in that context."
The WBC, whose title Danny Garcia holds, also was upset by Angel's antics.
"The WBC is extremely concerned with the behavior and actions showcased by Mr. Angel Garcia, who is the trainer of WBC welterweight champion Danny Garcia, during the press conference for the highly anticipated fight between Danny Garcia and Keith Thurman," WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said in a statement.
"The WBC prides itself for its battle against apartheid, in which South Africa was banned from boxing for 19 years, and our constant rejection to any sort of discrimination and abuse of power. The WBC condemns the foul language, the discriminatory threats, and the very dangerous actions which could have led to a riot and personal injuries during this presentation.
"The WBC has no jurisdiction over licensing of trainers, which is a matter that corresponds to the local boxing authorities. However, the WBC code of ethics and constitution, rules and regulations, emphatically reject these actions, which cannot be tolerated in our sport. The WBC respects and has always enjoyed a very respectful relationship with Mr. Angel Garcia in the past, and the WBC will hold a meeting in person or by teleconference next week through the WBC administrative process and protocol. Boxing is a sport of contact, but it is a noble one and fighters are role models for the youth of the world with countless exemplary actions of fair play, respect, unity, humanity and brotherhood.
"Garcia versus Thurman is a very important fight between two undefeated champions, which brings the best of our sport, and the attention must be fully into this great event and the two fighters putting their future on the line."
If boxing had a central authority -- a commissioner's office, for example -- Angel Garcia would be suspended and fined for his lowly actions. It doesn't, however, and raving lunatics usually get away with anything. Hopefully, though, the New York commission and the WBC will do whatever they can, to the maximum, to teach him that what he did has no place in boxing -- or society.
Article courtesy of Dan Rafael - ESPN
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