Hector Luis Garcia started the year losing in a pay-per-view main event.
Garcia, who was stopped by Gervonta Davis, when the current WBA super featherweight world champion moved up to lightweight to challenge Davis, has not fought since January 7th of this year.
That changes on November 25th, when Garcia will put his world title on the line against Lamont Roach Jr. in a bout that has gone to purse bid and been waiting for a suitable card to land on. Now it appears the David Benavidez versus Demetrius Andrade pay-per-view, a fight in which the WBC has now stated its implications towards who fights Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez next. Garcia, who has been out of the ring for ten months had a lot to say at the media conference call to promote this upcoming fight. It appears Roach Jr.'s confidence and vocal nature toward fighting Garcia is something that has rubbed him the wrong way in the build-up to this fight.
“Lamont Roach, like most American fighters, likes to talk. That’s his thing. My responsibility is to defend my title and exit the ring as the champion. That’s what I’m going to focus on. I prefer to do my talking inside the ring and that’s exactly what I’m going to do."
“Lamont will not be the toughest opponent that I’ve ever had, not by a long shot. Roger Gutierrez is better than him. Chris Colbert was way better than him. Lamont has earned this opportunity and I don’t take that away from him, but Gutierrez, Colbert, and, of course, Gervonta Davis are all better than him. I don’t consider him my toughest opponent at all."
“I feel equally fine at either 130 or 135 pounds. The plan is to defend the title on November 25 and then hopefully unify afterward. Then, if the opportunity comes to fight at 135 then I will gladly do so. But the goal right now is to defend the title.
It appears that Garcia is a money-weight division fighter more than being married to his world title at super featherweight as it appears he is going to be looking for big opportunities as much as defending his title. Garcia came out of obscurity in 2022, as he defeated Chris Colbert on short notice and became a world champion by the end of the year. This magical year prompted him into a pay-per-view fight with Gervonta Davis, one that Garcia still reflects on to this day as a major milestone. Though he credits the experience of that fight, Garcia believes that his knockout loss in that fight is something that will never happen again.
“More than anything, I’m going to prove that what happened against Gervonta Davis was a fluke and it’s never going to happen again. No excuses."
