Story by John DiSanto – PhillyBoxingHistory.com
Photos by Darryl Cobb / dcobbjr.com

By Fightnews.com

WBC welterweight champion Danny Garcia, 32-0, 18 KOs, continued preparations for his 10-round non-title bout against Samuel Vargas, 25-2-1, 13 KOs, with an open media workout at his DSG Boxing Gym in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Garcia, the former unified 140-pound champion, won the WBC belt at 147 pounds in January, and looks forward to a unification fight with WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman early next year.

That big fight loomed heavy over the media workout, with most of the press focused on the proposed anticipated March 4th match. However, Garcia must first tackle Vargas, a tough Canada-based Columbian fighter who is trained by Philadelphian Billy Briscoe. It will be Garcia’s first hometown fight since 2010.

Despite clearly having Thurman on his mind too, Garcia sounded ready to put first thing’s first and keep his sights fixed on Vargas.

“I’ve got tunnel vision,” Garcia said. “In this sport, you can’t overlook nobody. So, my job is to handle business on November 12th first. And then we can talk about Thurman.”

Garcia vs. Vargas will be staged at Temple University’s Liacouras Center in North Philly.

“It feels good,” Garcia said about his homecoming. “I think we only have to travel like five minutes (to the fight). This is home. It’s really in my back yard. This is what Philadelphia needed. Philadelphia is a fight town, and I feel that people in the world don’t know that. Our history with all the great fighters, the great champions we’ve had, is kind of being overshadowed by the other sports in Philadelphia. So, to me it’s an honor to bring a fight back to Philadelphia. Being a champion and fighting in the city of Philadelphia is great for the city of Philadelphia and boxing.”

Garcia’s father/trainer Angel Garcia also spoke to the media and insisted that his son would not suffer any distractions fighting at home or looking ahead to the meeting with Thurman.

“We’re keeping Danny focused, Angel Garcia said. “He knows that he can’t underestimate anybody. We take every opponent very seriously. The 32 people that he fought before were taken just as seriously as Vargas. Danny is completely ready for this fight. We’ll be in the ring on November 12th and I think that if Samuel Vargas comes to fight and stands toe-to-toe with Danny, we’re going to end the night early.”

The 10-round bout along with two other fights, promoted by Kings Promotions, will be televised live by SpikeTV.

Watch for more on Garcia vs. Vargas during fight week. To read more about the Philly fight scene – past and present – visit www.phillyboxinghistory.com.