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Amilcar Vidal Eyeing History As He Prepares For Showdown
Against Elijah Garcia On March 4
With the historic opportunity to become the country of
Uruguay’s first world professional boxing champion inching
closer with every victory, unbeaten WBC #9 middleweight
Amilcar “Pety” Vidal is hard at work in the gym with 2022
Ring Magazine and Sports Illustrated “Trainer of the Year”
Bob Santos, preparing for his 10-round SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP
BOXING (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) clash against Arizona’s also
unbeaten Elijah Garcia on Saturday, March 4 from Toyota
Arena in Ontario, Calif.
Vidal (16-0, 12 KOs) and Garcia (13-0, 11 KOs) will meet in
the opening televised bout of a Premier Boxing Champions
event topped by a high-powered matchup of former world
champions, Brandon “The Heartbreaker” Figueroa and Filipino
sensation Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo for the vacant Interim
WBC Featherweight Title live. The telecast will also feature
the return of former unified world champion “Swift” Jarrett
Hurd as he takes on the power-punching Armando Reséndiz in
the 10-round middleweight co-main event.
Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Vidal is now under the guidance
of top trainer Santos in their mutual adopted home of Las
Vegas. The 26-year-old put together an impressive streak
between November 2019 and November 2020, defeating three
previously unbeaten fighters in a row, as he knocked out
Zach Prieto on SHOBOX: The New Generation®, Leopoldo Reyna
and Edward Ortiz. Vidal followed that up with a decision
victory over veteran contender Immanuwel Aleem in July 2021
on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, and has added three more
triumphs since then, including most recently winning a
unanimous decision over Gabriel Omar Diaz last July.
“I’m too close to lose now,” said Vidal during a break. “I
am training with the will of the people of Uruguay and my
promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, who is also from here, and I
have the best trainer in the world to get me past Garcia and
the rest of the way to becoming my country’s first world
champion.”
Vidal says that against the power-punching southpaw Garcia
he’ll be looking to make a final statement in his case for a
championship fight.
“There will be no denying me after this,” said Vidal. “I
will make my final case for a title shot by destroying my
opponent’s will and taking his undefeated record. He’s a
good fighter, but this is history in the making that cannot
be stopped.”
The 26-year-old Vidal and trainer Santos both agree that his
experience and skills will be too much for the comparably
untested 19-year-old Garcia.
“The lights and the people. The stakes. They make it harder
if you’re not used to it,” admitted Vidal. “He’s not ready
for me with just one notable win on his record.”
“In this sport, one punch can change everything, but I think
Pety’s experience will be the big key factor,” added Santos.
“That’s what will lead us to victory.”
Santos says he and Vidal aren’t working on any particular
facet of the game to prepare, but rather just upping all of
the South American’s considerable assets.
“Everything is great. I couldn’t be more pleased. He’s such
a hard worker and a quick learner with so much attention to
detail. A very strong kid with good power in both hands. He
has a lot of good attributes and he’s also a tremendous
person to be around. There’s no particular area we’re
focusing on, just getting better every day, from top to
bottom.”
Santos says he foresees little problem dealing with Garcia’s
left-handed stance.
“Any time you fight a left hander they will present a
problem because you don’t fight as many of them. That said,
Pety is a veteran and he’s been in there against quality
guys. He’s got a lot of experience and we’ve got some good
quality sparring to get him ready. He will be prepared to
make an impressive statement on March 4.”
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