Garcia stops Said in Round 3
Written by: Joel Priest
4/9/2010
Mohammad Said is a well-traveled man.
Middle Eastern by birth, Brazilian by residence, with 43 pro bouts on his ledger.
Throw a women’s world champ (Layla McCarter; 32-13-5, 7 KO), a men’s world champ (Giovanni Andrade; 61-12-0, 50 KO), and a known Las Vegas, Nev., trainer (Luis Tapia) into his corner for guidance, and you’d think he’d have a potent blend for success.
Not at ‘April Assault’ last Saturday night.
And not against Elco Garcia’s right hand, which stamped ‘From Ignacio, With Love’ into Said’s left orbital just before the bell ending the second of ten scheduled rounds inside Sky Ute Casino Resort Events Center. 91 seconds into Round 3, referee Mark Nelson, noting the blood spatter on Said’s torso, deemed the damage irreparable, and Garcia (23-7-0, 12 KO) claimed a main-event TKO.
“I think the ref did the right thing,” said the middleweight, winner of his fourth straight bout. “That was a bad cut, and if the fight would have continued it would have only got worse.”
Located just over Said’s eyelid, the ring doctor initially indicated the cut wasn’t severe enough to warrant a stoppage, but Nelson likely knew a big bulls-eye had been painted at which Garcia could aim over the six-plus rounds still remaining. Amidst the crowd’s clamoring for the action to continue, Garcia, who played the main event cagey and analyzed Said (33-9-1, 24 KO) for the first round and a half, took the announcer’s microphone and tried to mellow the mob—who feared an egg had been laid too early of Easter.
“I only got a few more left in me,” he said, and thanked all those in attendance.
“That’s my home, there’s a lot of fans,” he said afterwards, referring to his unbeaten mark in town (12-0), “and I don’t want to let them down. When I fight there, they give me plenty of time to train the right way—sometimes I’ve taken fights in other places like a week before, and that’s not been good.”
“I don’t have a problem with a rematch,” he continued, considering the opposing opinion that Said could have fought on, “but I think I’m going forward. If it would have been, like, a loss or draw for me, then sure. But I’m just going to go forward…why look back?”
Turning 39 next month, Garcia’s next target could well be 24-year-old ‘No Doubt’ Austin Trout (21-0-0, 13 KO) of Las Cruces, N.M., currently the WBC’s #11-ranked super welterweight [154-pound limit, the weight at which Garcia won his first belt back in 2004], but the WBA’s #1 contender.
“I always train hard,” said Garcia. “Like my brother told me, ‘You’ve always got to be ready.’”
Said, recipient of an eight-count after Garcia’s blow that dropped him to his knees, had won eight straight and ten of 13 bouts coming in, losing to Renan St. Juste, Sebastien Demers, and imprisoned James Kirkland—all current or former champs in the various organizations’ middle to super-middle ranks, and a combined 76-3-1 at present. Those he’d beaten were, at their most recent, a collective 18-69-1 coming in.
“I’d especially like to thank the Southern Ute Tribe, and Tribal Councilman Marjorie Borst for sponsoring me,” he noted. “It really helped a lot, helped me train more effectively for this fight.”
UNDERCARD RESULTS: Bantamweight, four rounds—David Springer (Las Vegas; 3-1-3) 39-37, 37-39, 39-37 split dec. over Aaron Fernandez (Bloomfield, NM; 0-3). Super welterweight, four rounds—Servando Lopez (Farmington, NM; 2-0, 2 KO) TKO’s Jamal Hodges (Las Vegas; 1-8-1, 1 KO), 1:31 of Round 3. Heavyweight, four rounds—Reginald Jackson (Bloomfield; 2-1, 2 KO) KO’s Lawrence Ashurst (Las Vegas; 0-1), 2:34 of Round 1.
Featherweight, four rounds—Brittany Cruz (Denver, CO; 7-2-1, 1 KO) 40-36 x3 unanimous dec. over Jessica Sanchez (Albuquerque, NM; 1-3-2). Light heavyweight—Mike Montoya (Colo. Springs, CO; 3-1-1, 2 KO) 39-37 x3 unanimous dec. over Victor Filero (Bloomfield; 2-1, 1 KO
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