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Without a fight scheduled, Hector Luis Garcia remained in the gym at this time last year.
The Dominican southpaw hoped he would get the chance to change his career and his life, yet Garcia wasn’t assured of anything, let alone a televised main event. That’s why the little-known Garcia immediately accepted an opportunity to face another undefeated 130-pound contender, Chris Colbert, on about three weeks’ notice early last February.
Brooklyn’s Colbert was supposed to challenge WBA super featherweight champ Roger Gutierrez on February 26 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Garcia happily replaced Gutierrez once the Venezuelan veteran contracted COVID-19 while training to box Colbert.
Suddenly thrust into a “Showtime Championship Boxing” main event, the 2016 Olympian proved quite quickly that oddsmakers were comically ill-informed to have made Colbert a 25-1 favorite when they initially listed odds on their 12-round WBA elimination match. Garcia began battering Colbert’s body in the first round and never stopped on his way to a dominant performance.
Colbert couldn’t contend with Garcia’s pressure and activity. Eventually, a counter left hand by Garcia knocked Colbert flat on his back with 1:15 to go in the seventh round.
Colbert (16-1, 6 KOs) made it to the final bell, but Garcia (16-0, 10 KOs, 3 NC) won by huge margins on all three scorecards (119-108, 118-109, 118-109). His convincing victory guaranteed Garcia a shot at Gutierrez (26-4-1, 20 KOs), whom Garcia defeated almost as soundly to win the WBA 130-pound crown by unanimous decision August 20 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
“I always knew I just needed an opportunity,” Garcia told BoxingScene.com. “When I got it against Colbert, I made the most of it. Winning that fight changed everything for me.”
His win against Gutierrez moved the 31-year-old Garcia into position to secure the biggest fight of his six-year pro career, a Showtime Pay-Per-View main event versus Gervonta Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) on January 7 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
LAST YEAR’S WINNER: Sandor Martin over Mikey Garcia (10-round majority decision in October 2021).
RUNNERS-UP (listed chronologically)
Vincent Astrolabio-Guillermo Rigondeaux: The Philippines’ Astrolabio fought a largely low level of opposition before he encountered Cuba’s Rigondeaux on February 26 in Dubai. Rigondeaux, a two-weight world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, was 41 when they boxed, but he opened as a 10-1 favorite versus Astrolabio, who was 24. Astrolabio (18-3, 13 KOs) dropped Rigondeaux (20-3, 13 KOs, 1 NC) with a right hand in the eighth round, which was the difference on all three scorecards in a 10-round bout Astrolabtio won by unanimous decision (95-94, 95-94, 95-94).
Dmitry Bivol-Canelo Alvarez: Russia’s Bivol became the first fighter to defeat the Mexican superstar in 8½ years when he thoroughly out-boxed him and won a 12-round unanimous decision May 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Alvarez, the fully unified super middleweight champion, moved back up from the 168-pound division to the light heavyweight maximum of 175 pounds to fight for the unbeaten Bivol’s WBA belt. Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs), who entered the ring as more than a 4-1 favorite over Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs), lost for the first time since Floyd Mayweather decisively defeated him in September 2013 at nearby MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Jurmain McDonald-Evan Holyfield: The unknown McDonald was 6-5 (3 KOs) when the Jefferson City, Missouri native’s right hand knocked Holyfield down and out in the second round of a six-round match May 14 fight at The Forum in Inglewood, California. The 25-year-old Holyfield (9-1, 6 KOs), a son of legendary heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, was consistently listed as a 40-1 favorite before McDonald dealt Atlanta’s Holyfield the junior middleweight’s first professional defeat.
Lucas Browne-Junior Fa: New Zealand’s Fa was a 14-1 favorite in what was supposed to be a tune-up fight on the Devin Haney-George Kambosos Jr. undercard June 5 at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. Browne, a 43-year-old Australian veteran who had been knocked out three times in his previous eight fights, floored Fa twice less than two minutes into their scheduled 10-rounder. Though both knockdowns appeared to have been caused by punches to the back of Fa’s head, Browne (31-3, 27 KOs) was declared the winner 1:58 into the opening round. Fa (20-2, 11 KOs) fought for the first time since countryman Joseph Parker beat him by unanimous decision in their 12-rounder 15 months earlier.
Edwin De Los Santos-Jose Valenzuela: The Mexican-born, Seattle-based Valenzuela was considered a rising star in the lightweight division before De Los Santos stunned him in the third round September 4 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The 23-year-old Valenzuela (12-1, 8 KOs), who was a 7-1 favorite, went down once apiece in the second and third rounds prior to a third-round stoppage. The Dominican Republic’s De Los Santos (15-1, 14 KOs), a late replacement for former WBA super featherweight champion Jezreel Corrales, got off the canvas in the second round and overcame a point deduction for hitting Valenzuela when he was down during the second round to produce this career-changing victory.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.