Hector Luis Garcia defends his WBA super featherweight title against former title challenger Lamont Roach at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, November 25. The pair squares off on the PPV card, topped by David Benavidez vs Demetrius Andrade. The contest is scheduled for 12 rounds.
Garcia (16-1, 10 KOs) was in action in January when he suffered his first career defeat via ninth-round TKO against Gervonta Davis at lightweight. The native of San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic claimed the WBC super featherweight belt against former champion Roger Gutierrez by unanimous decision last August. The 32-year-old makes his first title defense and looks to return to winning ways.
“I feel in tip top shape,” Hector Luis Garcia said at a virtual pre-fight press conference. “I fought at the beginning of the year and I feel like I am ready to go on November 25. You can expect the best of me, like always. I am going to focus on not letting that loss get the best of me. I am going to focus on being positive, having positive thoughts and going after the win.”
“I learned a lot from the Gervonta Davis fight. But there is only one Gervonta Davis, so I know that I am not going to lose like that again. I always take the positives out of a fight and having fought on a pay-per-view main event allowed me to grow and I learned a lot from the entire experience.”
“Congratulations to Lamont on his mindset. I’m glad that he has such confidence and such a positive mindset that he thinks he’s going to stop me. Good for you. But I talk inside the ring, not outside of it. You will see.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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 afterwards. 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.”
“The past is in the past and now I’m ready to redeem myself and go for it all.”
‘I’m from the trenches & I stand by what I said about how I’m going to stop him’
Roach (32-1-1, 9 KOs) is coming of the win by unanimous decision against Angel Rodriguez in June 2022. The native of Washington, D.C. challenged Jamel Herring for the WBO super featherweight title in November 2019, but fell short dropping a unanimous decision. The 28-year-old makes his second attempt to become champion and eyes the fifth win in a row.
“Training camp has been going great,” Lamont Roach said. “Words can’t explain how hard I have been working and how hard I have been striving to achieve my goals. On November 25, fans are going to see fireworks. They are going to see the best of me and they are going to see the demise of Hector Luis Garcia.”
“My second time in a world title fight is going to be different because I learned a lot in the first one against Jamel Herring. I took a lot from that fight and I kept the ball rolling as you can see. I’m riding a win streak that I don’t plan on stopping for a long time. I give Garcia credit for being the champion but he’s in my way and I don’t think he’s on my level.”
“I’m from the trenches and I stand by what I said about how I’m going to stop him. That’s what I’m here for. I was in the front row for his fight against Tank. I saw Tank take the fight out of him and I know I can do the same thing. And it might be quick.”
“Fans are going to be saying that I’m the best boxer at 130 pounds and I will continue to prove that after November 25 as well.”
“I like that he said no excuses. That’s what I like to hear. There are no excuses on my end. That’s the name of my gym, No Excuse.”
“I fought for my first world title when I was 24 years old. I was young and since then I’ve only gotten better. I capitalized on it and added to my game. I’m better mentally, physically and psychologically. Every aspect of my game has been raised extremely high. There won’t be any excuses. For him to say that Roger Gutierrez is a better fighter than me is extremely disrespectful to my skill set. I hope he’s not training as if Roger Gutierrez is better than me.”
“Showtime PPV is going to showcase the next star. Make sure to tune in. I think Hector is the perfect dancing partner for me to get my shine on.”
The 12-round main event features undefeated two-time WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez, as he defends his interim WBC 168-pound belt against unbeaten two-division world champion Demetrius Andrade. In the 10-round co-main event, undefeated WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo is back in the ring after two years of layoff in a non-title fight against former title challenger Jose Benavidez Jr. Also on the card a 12-round world title bout between IBF super lightweight champion Subriel Matias and unbeaten challenger Shohjahon Ergashev.
In the UK and Australia, the event airs live on Sunday, November 26.
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