New Mexico Boxing - Quirino Garcia

Quirino (Kirino) Garcia:
Ready for Randall

Intro & Photos by Chris Cozzone
interview/translation by Ricardo Trujillo with Chris Cozzone & Andy Rivera

Quirino Garcia is one of those overlooked Top Ten fighters—he’s the guy with the horrible record, the guy who lost his first 18 fights and then turned his boxing career around. He’s also the guy who floored David Reid last November—who should’ve beat Reid, had the referee been doing his job, or the judges. Had the fight gone another 10 seconds, Reid would’ve been kissing the canvas (again.) But things don’t always go fairly in boxing . . . .

Garcia is no stranger to that. He was offered a shot at Fernando Vargas recently, and then HBO changed their mind when they studied Garcia’s record: 37-21-1, with 26 KO’s. His record wouldn't look so good to the average cable viewer, and most likely, we wouldn’t want Vargas going against someone like that, now would we? Look what happened to David Reid.

On Friday, Garcia does get a shot at somebody: Frankie “the Surgeon” Randall (56-8-1, 42 KO's.) And in his hometown, too. Randall, of course, is the guy who beat the great Julio Cesar Chavez in 1994. Sure, it was nearly seven years ago, but the Mexican crowd is always ready for a little vengeance—Garcia-style.

Ricardo Trujillo (RT): Are you ready for your fight with Frankie Randall?

Quirino Garcia (QG): I’m ready to fight. Got just one week to go. I believe I will beat Randall.

Andy Rivera (AR): Do you feel any pressure fighting Randall, because Randall beat Chavez before?

QG: I’m always looking for the knockout, looking for the win . . . but I’m going to win this fight for all the Juaritos—the people of Juarez—to avenge the defeat that Julio Cesar Chavez suffered against Frankie Randall.

RT: Are you looking forward to fighting Randall?

QG: I’m anticipating fighting Randall and I’ve been training since my defeat in Vegas against David Reid.

RT: What happened in that fight against Reid?

AR: We all thought you’d won against Reid . . . .

QG: I thought I won.

RT: Any news on the offer to fight Fernando Vargas?

QG: It would be the fight of two cholos: one from Los Angeles, one from Juarez. I’m in the final three to fight Vargas in April.

[Vargas has since secured a fight with Wilfredo Rivera on May 5^th.]

AR: So they’re reconsidering you? We’d heard they didn’t someone with your record going against Vargas.

QG: I’m 90% sure I’m going to fight Vargas in March in El Paso. But … you never know. They might pull me out. It would be a perfect match, though: two cholos, me and Vargas.

CC: We heard that Vargas was fighting Wilfredo Rivera . . . .

QG: I’m not sure . . . It’s down to three fighters, but I don’t know yet. I’m not prepared to say I’ll be the one, though. Main Events and HBO will decide.

AR: What was the deciding factor in your fight with Reid? That he was an Olympian, or that he’s backed by big people?

QG: These promoters don’t sign up these fighters for multi-fight contracts to lose. The only way I would’ve won that fight was if I would’ve knocked him out. Or knocked him down again.

AR: Or, if that one knockdown, which was a knockdown, hadn’t been ruled a slip.

QG: All I had to do was push his head down a little and he would’ve fallen. He was so exhausted. I was ready to go another two rounds.

AR: When you fought Reid, how come you didn’t start earlier?

QG: I started out slow because I was genuinely nervous. The crowd, the lights, the television . . . it made me nervous. But after four rounds, I knew that I could get to Reid.

RT: When they said, “Winner by unanimous decision . . .” you thought it was you, didn’t you?

QG: They’re protecting the fighters. That’s why I lost. It was a hometown decision.

# # #