Robert Garcia speaking from his personal gym in Oxnard, Calif. (Photo: Chris Robinson – www.HustleBoss.com)
By Chris Robinson
We are now a week removed from Tim Bradley’s spirited split-decision victory over Juan Manuel Marquez, as he edged the crafty Mexican over twelve rounds inside of the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In a tactical and tense affair, Bradley was able to outhustle Marquez in key spots while showing enough defensive prowess and quickness to stay out of harm’s way.
Inside of the arena, a pro-Marquez crowd wasn’t terribly happy with the decision that saw Bradley rightfully defend his WBO welterweight title for a second time.
Watching the action unfold from near ringside, former world champion and renowned trainer Robert Garcia admits that he got a little caught up in the atmosphere that evening.
“Right there live, and with 15,000 screaming Mexicans screaming every time Marquez threw a jab, I thought Marquez won,” Garcia stated. “But coming back and watching the fight on TV and hearing it from everybody around, I seen that Bradley got the win.
“He did a little bit more, he was a little bit busier and boxed real good,” Garcia continued. “Made Marquez miss a lot. I think it was a good decision, even though one judge also thought Marquez won. It was very close fight. It could have gone either way, but it was a good fight.”
Bradley won a highly-unpopular split-decision over Manny Pacquiao in June of last year, and in the wake of the Marquez triumph, Garcia feels that we are witnessing a fighter who simply may never get his just due despite his winning ways.
“You know what? This guy is the real thing,” Garcia said respectfully of Bradley. “And he’s still undefeated. Until now, he’s still not getting the respect. I think it’s the fact that he’s beating these great fighters, these great champions.
“He beat Pacquiao and everybody hated him for that,” Garcia explained. “You know what I mean? Now he beats the best Mexican fighter in the world right now. He’s not going to get no respect.”
Elaborating on the situation further, Garcia flashed back to a time when a young and upcoming Oscar De La Hoya was victim to some backlash after defeating one of Mexico’s finest and beloved champions.
“De La Hoya never got no respect for beating [Julio] Chavez Sr.,” Garcia said. “Everybody hated him for that. I think Bradley is going through the same thing right now. But he keeps winning, he keeps doing his job. Just train hard, stay motivated, stay positive, because I think his career is going to be like that.
“He just beat those two big names and instead of liking him, people are hating him,” said Garcia. “But he’s going to continue winning and he doesn’t need to care. He lives in Palm Springs. He’s not in Mexico. He’s not in the Philippines.”
PLEASE CONTINUE BELOW for more all-access coverage from the boxing world…
Mike Alvarado vs. Ruslan Provodnikov official weigh-in coverage [HD]
Marcos Maidana talks Bradley-Marquez, his training for Broner, and comments from Danny Garcia
Shawn Porter planning to break Devon Alexander down to the body; says he may knock him out
J’Leon Love (15-0, 8 KO’s) sparring Andrew Tabiti (1-0, 1 KO) at the Mayweather Boxing Club
Gennady Golovkin feels Brandon Rios could suffer the same fate as Margarito did against Pacquiao
Chris Robinson can be reached at Trimond@aol.com