By Norm Frauenheim
LAS VEGAS – Ryan Garcia came in from the storm.
He didn’t exactly leave it behind. He never does. But on a rare day that left Vegas chilled by rain instead of warmed by the desert sun, Garcia stepped inside, looking peaceful. Almost serene.
Calm before an opening bell vanishes like spilled beer up-and-down the Strip in mid-summer. It’s there, then it’s gone faster than a mirage.
Perhaps, that’s all it was for Garcia Thursday during a news conference that was moved from an outdoor pavilion and onto the bottom floor of T-Mobile Arena because of persistent showers.
But you never know with Garcia, who has more roles in his erratic career than he has angles on his
punches.
For Mario Barrios, a peaceful Garcia on a Thursday before their welterweight title fight Saturday night on DAZN might have been a little eerie.
After all, the last time they shared a stage, he encountered a Gracia full of the usual mocks, insults and theatrics.
Who is this guy? His father, Henry Garcia, hears the question. Dad, who is back in his son’s corner, promised a fighter fans remember.
“The boxer that beat Luke Campbell, beat (Javier) Fortuna, beat (Devin) Haney, that’s the fighter you’re going to see,’’ Henry Gracia said.
The fighter who beat Haney, of course is the fighter who tested positive for a PED that might have explained his ferocity throughout a wild and notorious fight in New York. It led to Garcia’s suspension and widespread condemnation.
But this is boxing. Ferocity is the way many of his fans want to remember him. The passive, disinterested fighter they saw in a subsequent loss to Rolly Romero in his last bout is the fighter they’d rather forget.
The Haney fight, eventually ruled a no-contest, has them hoping for a rematch, one that could be there if Garcia beats Barrios and claims the World Boxing Council’s 147-pound belt. That possibility is why The Ring has attached the promotional label, High Stakes, to the bout.
Haney-Gracia would be a grudge fest, a storm for which there would be no shelter. For now, at least, Garcia’s quiet confidence suggests confidence he’ll take a step in that direction against Barrios.
During the newser, Barrios said he hoped to make Garcia uncomfortable
Garcia was asked the inevitable:
Can he?
“No,” he said.
Then, he paused, almost ominously
“I don’t,’’ he said
Since the bout was announced, Garcia has been the favorite, both in the ring and on the billboards. Barrios has the title, but Garcia owns the show.
There’s been a lot of talk about Barrios trainer, Joe Goossen, who is Garcia’s ex-trainer. In the first news conference, Garcia passed out T-shirts that said Traitor. Then, that was what Garcia apparently wanted everybody to think of Goossen. On Thursday, however, there were no divorce-like insults.
There were just questions about whether Goossen’s experience with Garcia might give Barrios an advantage.
Barrios didn’t talk much about that possibility. He doesn’t talk much at all, anyway.
But Garcia had a profane response.
Goossen, he said, knows him, knows what he can do.
“He also knows I can be a bad m-effer,’’ Garcia said. “On Saturday night, I’m going to be a bad m-ffer.’’
Moments later, Garcia and Barrios walked to the middle of the stage for the ritual face-off. Just as they broke off, Garcia flashed the middle finger, an obscene gesture that flashed like lightning on the horizon.
Another m-effing storm might be coming.
