Earlier today pandemonium broke out at the press conference promoting junior welterweight world champion Danny Garcia's February 9 clash with four-time world champion Zab Judah at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. To watch the Ringtv.com video, click this link.
It will come as no surprise to most boxing fans that the confrontation was precipitated by Danny Garcia's father and trainer, Angel. At this point the older Garcia has a well-established reputation for talking trash.
"Kostya Tszyu was Zab Judah's time," said the older Garcia, referring to Judah's iconic second-round stoppage at the hands of Russian Hall of Famer in 2001. "This is now. This is Danny's time."
The Kostya Tszyu reference has to be viewed as a low blow. Not only was it Judah's first career loss, but it was also among the most embarrassing things to ever transpire inside a boxing ring, an event that is always referenced by Judah haters whenever they are lining up to criticize the Brooklyn native.
Unwilling and unable to accept that he had been knocked out, Judah at first argued vehemently with the referee and then with his own corner. A near riot broke out in the ring.
But it was over a decade ago, and Judah appears to have matured considerably as a person since then. No longer the overbearingly cocky, undefeated young prospect, he is now a seasoned veteran with multiple world title reigns on his resume.
His interviews now lean toward the thoughtful, rather than the rash and boastful.
But the sustained attack from the elder Garcia was enough to push Judah to his emotional breaking point today. Fighter and trainer briefly traded insults nose to nose before being separated.
Predictably, the elder Garcia's own temper quickly escalated. As Judah was dragged away from the podium by his handlers, Garcia continued to direct an F-bomb-laced rant in Judah's general direction.
It has become a routine performance for the father of the very talented junior welterweight champ. The fighter himself is relatively content to let his ferocious lead hook do his talking for him. But it seems like Pops just can't resist chiming in as well.
At least it adds an element of heat to a fight that wasn't really anybody's first choice for a Garcia title defense. Despite his lack of tact, nothing Angel Garcia said was particularly off-base or inaccurate.
While Judah looked very good in his last outing, a Round 9 TKO over previously unbeaten Vernon Paris, prior to that he was beaten decisively by Amir Khan in July of 2011, knocked out in five. Khan, of course, dropped his share of the 140-pound belt to Garcia this past July via Round 4 TKO.
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