In addition to having 4.8 million followers on Instagram, the 21-year-old lightweight is undefeated at 19-0—with 16 knockouts—since turning pro in 2016. “Two of those that were by decision when I was 17 living in Mexico, just fighting raw,” says the Victorville, CA native.
“People see me on Instagram and they don’t take me seriously,” explains Garcia. “They say things like, ‘This Instagrammer isn’t that good.’ ‘Let’s see what happens when he goes up against [previous opponent] Romero Duno.’ They didn’t even give me a chance.”
Garcia went on to score a first-round knockout against the Filipino as the co-main event for last November’s Canelo Alvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev bout in Las Vegas. But even a quick stoppage wasn’t enough to change opinions.
“People were impressed,” Garcia says, “but it only lasted about two weeks, and then they were back to saying things like, ‘Let’s see this kid go up against someone good,’” says Garcia. “It’s always going to be an uphill battle.”
Making believers out of social media critics has been a fight Garcia is, and has always been, willing to climb one workout at a time. “If I wake up and I don’t feel like doing something, I make sure that I do it anyway, and I break my mental barriers,” says Garcia. “So if I’m in the ring, and I don’t feel like punching, I’m going to punch, and I’m going to land shots. Because I’ve trained my body and mind, that no matter what I don’t want to do, I do it, because it benefits me.”
The American of Mexican decent, who recorded 215 wins as an amateur, has dedicated his life to boxing, knowing that even a single day off might give an opponent an edge over him that he just isn’t willing to accept. “I want to do something amazing and leave a legacy,” says Garcia. “If you want to do anything great in life, it takes sacrifice.”
It also requires a great team in your corner, and Garcia, who’s been boxing since the age of 7, has been fortunate to be learning under the tutelage of his father and Eddy Reynoso, the man partially responsible for the success of arguably boxing’s biggest star today, Canelo Alvarez.
“Seeing what it’s like to be in a camp where a champion like Canelo trains, when you see something like that you understand, that’s what you need to do,” says Garcia. “You can train so much, but you can never buy experience. So the fact that Canelo and all of them, they have way more experience than me, and they’ve been in it much longer—I get to soak in all that. And I’ve seen myself improve a lot.”
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Amanda Westcott for DAZN / M+F Magazine
TRAINING DAY
Monday through Friday, Garcia’s regimen remains the same, beginning with a 5-mile run each morning at 6 a.m. Afterward, Garcia refuels with a protein smoothie or coffee and grapefruit.
By 11 a.m., he’s off to the boxing gym for a two-hour training session, which leaves him a bit hungry. After, around 1 and 2 p.m., it’s either chicken or fish with Brussels sprouts or broccoli, or maybe even a poke bowl.
“Sometimes I’ll have a little bit of rice or sweet potato, but I try to stay off the carbs as much as I can since I have to keep my weight at 135 pounds, which is challenging being 5’11”.”
Garcia’s training day concludes with some strength or agility work, then time to relax before bed at 10 or 11 p.m. As the fight approaches, his mentality remains the same, but Garcia’s team focuses on also understanding the opponent and may shift training to capitalize on strategies to result in a win. “I’m willing to put in the work,” says Garcia. “My speed plus my work ethic are part of what makes me gifted at this sport.”
That doesn’t always seem to come through on his social media channels though, which frustrates Garcia as he views social as another part of the business. Just like he’s alone in the ring, Garcia does all of his social media, perfecting a formula he says took time in figuring what fans liked best. Now, Garcia says he’s protective of his popularity, he wants to remain authentic he says.
“Once I got in the pro ring, I realized even more so that boxing is also a business, and you have to get your name out there, and have people watching you,” says Garcia. “And that’s what I’m doing on social media—I’m giving it my all to get my name out there, just like I give it my all in the ring.”
