Undefeated World Boxing Organization
(WBO) junior lightweight champion and 2013 Fighter of the Year nominee MIKEY GARCIA (33-0, 28 KOs), of Oxnard,
Calif., and two-time world title challenger and current No. 1 contender JUAN CARLOS BURGOS (30-1-2, 20 KOs), of
Tijuana, México, hosted an international Media Conference Call from their
respective training camps on Tuesday. Garcia and Burgos are in the final weeks of training before their world
title fight collision at The Mecca of Boxing -- Madison Square Garden in New
York.
The Garcia - Burgos world junior
lightweight title fight takes place on Saturday, January 25 and will be
televised live on HBO Boxing After
Dark®, beginning at 9:45 p.m.
ET/PT. The telecast will open
with a 10-round battle between undefeated heavyweight contenders Bryant Jennings and Artur Szpilka.
BOB ARUM: This is going to be a great fight and this is going to be a great
event. It’s wonderful for me
personally to be back in New York and back in Madison Square
Garden.
ARTIE PELULLO: I would like to thank everyone involved in the show. There was a disappointment when Juan
Carlos had the draw against Rocky Martinez last January. We did believe he won the fight but
nevertheless, the WBO and Paco Valcarcel made Juan Carlos the number one
contender and Alex and I were able to make an arrangement with Carl and Bob that
we would be the first title defense and we are grateful for that and Bob’s right
– it is going to be a real good fight. These are both good fighters. Mikey Garcia is at the top of his game and it’s going to be a difficult
fight for our guy and we believe he is going to win the fight and he has been
training hard in Tijuana. You are
going to see two guys that don’t know how to back up and everybody knows that so
it’s going to be a great fight.
ALEX CAMPONOVA: Juan Carlos has had two chances for a world title. We know about Mikey Garcia and Juan
Carlos has been preparing like we have never seen before.
JUAN CARLOS BURGOS: Good afternoon to all of you and it’s a great honor for me to speak to
you all. And I want to say hello to
all of you from Tijuana.
MIKEY GARCIA: I’m happy to be back. It was
a great fight last time I was at The Garden and I am looking forward to this
opponent who is in front of me. I
know he will be difficult – he has had great accomplishments in the boxing
ring. After his last fight a lot of
people thought he should have been the champion. It’s going to be a good fight and it’s
going to be a good card. There are
some really good fighters and Burgos and I are going to put on a great show for
the fans.
Mikey, how do you feel about fighting
in New York?
MIKEY GARCIA: It’s really good for me to fight on the
east coast and in New York. This is
a real big boxing venue – big fights, historic fights have taken place there and
I just want to make sure the fans see a good show and remember watching me fight
in that arena. They are real boxing
fans there. They are not just there
to watch the main event. They are
there to watch the whole night of boxing. That’s what is great about being in New York. And boxing is alive and it’s great and I
am really happy to be back.
Do you feel fighting in New York makes
you a bigger star?
MIKEY GARCIA: Fighting in New York is a great
feeling. And fighting in Madison
Square Garden is a big deal to me, but it all depends on if the fans don’t show
up it doesn’t matter. If they do
come and show their support and show their love and admire me as a fighter –
that is what I strive for and that’s the best.
Did you watch the Burgos-Martinez
fight while you were in the dressing room?
MIKEY GARCIA: I didn’t get to watch the fight when it happened and I have only watched
a couple of rounds from that fight. My dad and Robert watch the video of my opponents. I just watch a couple of rounds here and
there.
What is your plan at this weight
class?
MIKEY GARCIA: We will have to look at the options after this fight. Hopefully everything turns out well next
week and we can move forward with our plans. We’d have to look at the top fighters in
the next weight class and if I do that I have to grow into the weight
class. I would like to unify the
titles before moving up but if there is something better at 135 then I will go
there. Then I can unify the titles
there or move up to 140 if the right fight is there or what options are
available. It’s not easy to put a
fight together and in this business you’ve got to look at everything before you
can move up in weight class.
MIKEY GARCIA: I would have to make a fight at 135 before moving up to 140. I feel that 135 would be a very good
division for me and I think I can do something in the lightweight
division.
Talk about how the Amidu fight played out?
JUAN CARLOS BURGOS: I am in a perfect position at 130
lbs. Yes I took that fight but it
was important to do it. I couldn’t
back out of it and compromise the promoters and the venue and the TV – I wasn’t
going to back out of a main event fight. Obviously the jump in weight affected me because I was prepared to fight
a smaller guy or a guy with a smaller frame. However, I watched the fight a couple of
times and it looked like the judges were going against me – it was the second
time I had a draw – the first was against Martinez and the second one was
against Amidu. I felt strong
throughout the fight – I didn’t think he hurt me or anything and according to
what I saw I thought I won the fight – it may have been a short margin but I
thought I won the fight.
Bob, do you feel Mikey is a Top-10
Pound for Pound fighter?
BOB ARUM: Yes, I believe that he is a Top-10 Pound for Pound fighter right now and
soon he will be universally accepted as the best pound-for-pound fighter in
boxing.
What makes you say that from his last
couple of fights?
BOB ARUM: He’s a complete fighter – he has great
technique and great defense. He is
a powerful puncher and when he throws his punches it is with great intent. In other words he doesn’t waste a lot of
punches. He measures his opponent
and then throws his punches accordingly with a lot of power. So he is a complete fighter and he is
getting better.
Mikey, do you feel you are Top-10
Pound-for-Pound?
MIKEY GARCIA: I do feel I am at least a Top 10. I’m just starting as world champion and
I still have a lot to prove. I had
some good fights last year but I am just here to do my job. I don’t pay that much attention to
ratings to Top 10 lists – I just take it one fight at a
time.
Juan Carlos, you are taller than other
Garcia opponents – do you think that is an advantage?
JUAN CARLOS BURGOS: I know that I am tall for the division and when I was fighting at 126 I
was tall for that division. I will
try to use that to my advantage against Garcia because I know that I am taller
than he. I will try to maximize all
of my qualities inside the ring and at the same time try and exploit all of the
mistakes that Garcia might make in the fight. As far as the Martinez fight comparing
how each of us did – again that was a difficult chapter and whatever happened
that night happened and I can’t dwell on that anymore. You all know that decision is on my
record and I can’t change it. The
only think I concentrate on right now is my future fight and that is against
Garcia on the 25th. Nothing else matters to me. I am extremely focused and worked very hard like never before to fight a
great champion like he is. I have
prepared myself mentally and physically with my team for the 25th and
that’s all that matters to me.
How important is it for you to fight
in New York?
JUAN CARLOS BURGOS: It is an honor and a privilege to fight again at Madison Square Garden in
a historic place where legends have been made. It is a pleasure for me to be there for
the second time in my career – especially against a fighter like Mikey Garcia
who is a young champion that I truly respect because of all his
achievements. But all of my respect
for him will go out the window on the 25th because I have a goal in
mind and that is to become world champion. I have to do my job to take away his undefeated record and I am working
extremely hard to achieve that goal.
MIKEY GARCIA: It is an honor to be fighting in Madison Square Garden. A lot of great fights have take place
there and I hope the fans will remember this fight also. People have treated me very well in New
York and I hope that everything goes well for me next week
there.
Because of your last two fights ended
in draws – do you feel you need to KO your opponent?
JUAN CARLOS BURGOS: You can say that those two draws were not just. I worked very hard in those fights to
get the win and unfortunately two judges did not appreciate my work in the
ring. But like I said before I am
not looking at the past – I am looking at the immediate future, which is Mikey
Garcia. In regards to the knockout,
I don’t think about that. Like most
fighters in the world today – I let him come to me and we see what happens. I am just going to go out there and do
my work and to put everything into play what I have
practiced.
Bob, how do you see the future
schedule of Mikey Garcia?
BOB ARUM: It’s one fight at a time. A lot is happening in boxing and it
happens really quick. Mikey is one
of the few American stars in boxing. We have Mikey and Andre Ward, Floyd Mayweather and Timothy Bradley and
there are not many other Americans who qualify as superstars. I envision – Mikey is taking on a lot of
these non-Americans in really big fights and where that takes him I am not
sure. Does it take him up in weight
to 135 or 140 then a fight with Pacquiao or does it take him to a tremendous
confrontation with Lomachenko if Lomachenko proves himself with Orlando Salido
[March 1] and goes forward. Lomachenko, based on his amateur background, was the greatest amateur of
all time. Will he be as successful
in the pros and if he is will Mikey Garcia be his biggest fight? A lot can happen so we go one fight at a
time. – whether he goes up, stays at 130 – that’s going to depend on what’s
happening in boxing.
Is a fight with Pacquiao in his
future?
BOB ARUM: Mikey will tell you himself. He was over in Macau when his stablemate, Brandon Rios fought Pacquiao,
and he mentioned to some that down the road he would look forward to a fight
with Manny Pacquiao. I am a big
Mikey Garcia fans and I thought that would be good.
How is it going with Alex
Ariza:
MIKEY GARCIA: A lot of people talk – they complain and say get rid of him. But it works well for me and I like
working with the guy so why would I change it?
What if you do fight Pacquiao and have
Ariza in your corner?
MIKEY GARCIA: I feel really good working with Ariza and you could see the results when
he worked with Pacquiao. He kept
moving up in divisions and dominated everyone. If we can do the same thing with me that
only makes me a better fighter. We
want the best team to help me perform the best. I don’t want to move up in weight class
because I am lazy and don’t want to train hard. I will move up when my body is ready to
go into that division and with Alex that will help me and I’ll be a lot better
than if he wasn’t working with me.
Mikey, could you move down? Do you want to stay at 130 or move
up?
MIKEY GARCIA: Right now I feel really good at 130. I could probably come down to 126. Even in my last fight everything was
gong real well and the weight was coming off and I thought I could get to
126. But everyone, Robert, my
dad, Alex, Top Rank, would like for me to stay at 130 or move up to 135. I think the plans to come back to 126
are no longer there. I think there
are better things at a higher weight class.
MIKEY GARCIA: I am a thinking fighter in the ring. I work to pick my opportunities. I don’t watch any film of my
opponents. I don’t only look at
offense but I look at defense also and that allows me to be the fighter that I
am. When I got knocked down against
Martinez I got back up and went to work. I don’t get too excited either. I try to keep focus on the game plan and I do what I have to do t win the
fight. If I need to take another
round or two to get adjusted to an opponent I will do
that.
You remind me of the tough fighters
from the past that could hit like a mule…
MIKEY GARCIA: That is great to be compared to old
time fighters and to have my name mentioned with them is an
honor.
Juan Carlos, you are actually fighting
for a title that should be yours, will that change the way you approach the
fight – do you feel you need a KO?
JUAN CARLOS BURGOS: It is true that I deserved to win the title last year – January in New
York. So now I have to try and win
it again but I am at ease with myself because of the three months I have put in
the gym but it’s not going to be an easy task because Mikey is a great champion
but I feel very strong.
Final
Comments:
JUAN CARLOS BURGOS: To all the fans I hope you get to see the fight either live at The Garden
or on HBO on the 25th. I
think it’s going to be a great fight to start the year. I have trained to the best of my ability
to give everything I have inside the ring and to showcase myself. I hope for the both of us we have real
good judges so that the real winner's hand is raised after the
fight.
MIKEY GARCIA: Thank you, everyone and I am looking forward to the fight next week in
New York and hope for a good experience once again and give the fans a great
fight.
BOB ARUM: I would like to thank HBO for putting this fight on the air - this fight
along with the heavyweight fight between Jennings and Szpilka. I understand from the attorney Leon
Margules that he is very optimistic that Szpilka will obtain his visa and will
be coming to the United States this weekend. So I look forward to a great night at
Madison Square Garden – there will also be a lot of young stars to accompany
this match – Seanie Monaghan is on the card, Felix Verdejo will be on the card,
the dynamic fighter from Philadelphia Jesse Hart will be on the card along with
many other good fighters. It will
be a terrific night of boxing at Madison Square Garden on the
25th
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Promoted by Top Rank®, in association
with Banner Promotions, Thompson Boxing Promotions, Gary Shaw Productions,
Warriors Boxing Promotions, Madison Square Garden and Tecate, remaining tickets to the Garcia - Burgos world championship
event, priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, can be
purchased at the Madison Square Garden Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets,
Ticketmaster charge by phone (866-858-0008), and online at www.ticketmaster.com
and www.thegarden.com.