I don't know if any of you remember this fighter, out of Phoenix, Arizona? http://boxrec.com/en/boxer/261591 Garcia was, if my memory is correct, an alternate to the US Olympic team in 04. There were some strong amateurs in Phoenix in that time frame. Besides Garcia there was middleweight southpaw Jesus Gonzalez and bantam Rafael Valenzuela, ranked#1 nationally and criminally robbed at the Olympic trials. I was living in Phoenix at the time and training fighters. Garcia is listed at 5' 10"; I would wager anything he is no more than 5' 8". And he is stocky, no way in this world he is making light heavy, and he was no puncher. I saw his pro debut. My uncle and I were sitting next to this beautiful girl and she said her father was on the card, a heavyweight. The only fight at that weight was the Garcia fight; her father was the sacrificial lamb and Garcia stopped him in one. Thankfully, George couldn't really hurt anyone with his punches, but he slapped him silly.
I saw Garcia fight one other time, in May of 05. That was a good card. Jesus Soto-Karass fought Manuel Gomez and was given a draw in a fight he took on short notice and won; Gomez was subsequently knocked out by Margarito in about one minute. Urbano Antillon, Giovanni Segura, and Mike Alvarado also fought. Garcia weighed 259 that night and his opponent weighed 257. By the time that fight started it was dark- it was an outdoor show- and the lights were on. People booed the fight but cheered the bats that swooped out of the darkness to feed on the bugs that flocked to the lights. The highlight of the fight came when someone yelled "Come on, George, fight him like he wants the last piece of chicken." My understanding is that George Garcia sold a lot of tickets, so he made decent money. His pro career, which was deliberately brief, paid the way for him to complete his education.
