Original Article: Boxing Scene
By Lem Satterfield
Monday, December 31, 2019
Four division champion Mikey Garcia’s giving up height (5-foot-9 ½-to-5-foot-6) and reach (72-inches-to-68) entering his March 16 clash of unbeaten and 147-pound debut against IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr., yet insists he will will neutralize “The Truth” in his quest for a third defense and 12th straight knockout victory at The Dallas Cowboys’ Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Fox Pay Per View.
“I’m the type of fighter who can adapt and adjust to my opponent very well. Even though Spence has a southpaw stance, I’ve never had any problems with southpaw fighters. As far as game plan, I’m going to be working on different things and be better prepared.,” said Garcia, 31, who will face the 28-year-old Spence near his hometown of DeSoto, Texas.
“If that means I’m going to be on the outside making him reach in, then I’ll do that. If it requires me to fight on the inside and to keep that away, then I might have to fight on the inside the entire fight where his reach no longer matters. If I have to go inside and work his body, then if that’s what it takes, then that’s what I’m preparing to do.”
Garcia is in his first two weeks of what will be a full month with strength and conditioning guru Victor Conte at his Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning (SNAC) facilities in San Carlos, California, an organization that supplies legal sports nutrition products and supplements.
As part of Conte’s program, Garcia's December 28 workout included running hills, sprints and bungee cord work-- all on the beach -- as well as various forms of plyometrics and mitt and core exercises in low and high altitude simulation domes.
"I hear people saying they're going to put 12 pounds of muscle on Mikey and he's going to be slow, but we do heavy duty bungee and over and under hurdle drills among other things," said Conte of Mikey Garcia, who will begin traditional sparring and gym work next month with Robert Garcia in Riverside, California.
"We have masks, we have chambers where he's breathing low oxygen equivalent to a 10,000-foot elevation. This is higher than Big Bear at 6,700, and Mexico City at 8,300. This is about increasing Mikey's explosive power, speed and endurance. We're on a mission to help Mikey beat the so-called 'Boogey Man' of boxing, Errol Spence."
