No sibling rivalry in this family.
Junior welterweight Daniel Garcia dropped Christopher Rodriguez twice en route to a knockout win on June 20 at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside. Garcia improved to 14-0 with 11 knockouts.
Younger brother Lorenzo, 20, was successful in his professional debut, knocking out Tylan Gilmore-Smith (1-1-1, 1 KO) of Columbus, Ohio, in the second round.
“One thing that you wish for is having your brother by your side,” Garcia told The Star after the fight. “It meant a lot to me that my brother fought on the same card I did. I knew he was going to win by knockout. All the hard work he put in and the opportunity he got to open the show. I’m happy for him.”
Daniel Garcia, who goes by the nickname of “Junebug,” was the aggressor from the opening bell, backing Rodriguez against the ropes or in a corner.
With about a minute left in the first round, Garcia knocked Rodriguez down to the canvas with a barrage of punches. Rodriguez beat the count, but was dropped to the canvas again, this time by a combination. Referee Chris Leben stopped the fight at 2:34.
“You never know when you’re going to get the knockout, but the hard work you put in the gym, I expected that (result),” said Garcia.
The 24-year-old Garcia, splits his time between the Denver suburb of Westminster, where he resides, and Oxnard. He is co-trained by Danny Garcia.
Daniel Garcia is grateful for the time spent in camp with Oxnard, where he has seen his skill-set improve over the last couple of years.
“I really appreciate (everything he has done for me),” said Garcia, who knocked out Blas Caro in the second round of his previous fight on March 14 in Anaheim. “It’s eye-opening with some of the details in the gym and the advice he gives me in the ring. I have a good balance of training in Denver with my coaches over there and finishing training camp in Oxnard.”
Garcia has a solid team around him. He and brother Lorenzo are managed by Joel De La Hoya, who is the older brother of former boxing great Oscar De La Hoya, who is the Chairman of Golden Boy Promotions.
“It’s very humbling (to be represented by both). I’m very happy. It gives me more confidence in my skills,” Garcia said.
Rodriguez, who resides in Miami, falls to 13-3-1, 11 KOs. He has lost his last three fights, all by knockout.
In the main event, former Ring Magazine strawweight champion and unified titleholder Oscar Collazo dropped late-sub Neider Valdez (15-4-3, 12 KOs) of Mexico three times en route to a knockout win in the second round.
Collazo, who lives and trains in Puerto Rico, improves to 15-0, 12 KOs.
Lupia victorious
Junior welterweight Joshuah Lupia was victorious on June 6, defeating Pasquale Barile by unanimous decision at Central Niagara in Lupia’s hometown of Niagara Falls, Canada.
Scores were 96-94, 97-93 and 98-92 for Lupia, who improved to 18-0, 15 KOs.
Trainer Marco Contreras recently told The Star that Lupia injured his right hand the week of the fight. Team Lupia decided to move forward with the fight, rather than withdraw from the fight.
The 28-year-old Lupia currently trains at Mean Machine Gym in Newbury Park and resides in Thousand Oaks.
Barile, who resides in Terlizzi, Italy, falls to 13-6, 4 KOs.
Francisco A. Salazar covers boxing for The Star. He has also written for Ring Magazine, Boxingscene and Fightnews. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at FSalazarBoxing.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Garcia brothers enjoy knockout wins on same boxing card
Reporting by Francisco A. Salazar, Special to Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Francisco A. Salazar, Special to Ventura County Star | USA TODAY Network
