Unfair if son pays for father’s sins

THE NEW YORK State Athletic Commission will meet with boxing trainer Angel Garcia this week to determine whether to license him to work his son’s corner during Danny Garcia’s welterweight unification bout with Keith Thurman on March 4 at Barclays Center.

Angel Garcia was ordered to the commission offices to answer for his behavior during a Jan. 18 press conference at Barclays Center. The elder Garcia nearly incited a melee when he unleashed a screaming stream of profane, anti-gay language, while repeatedly calling Thurman “bitch” and the N-word.

It was an ugly scene and Garcia deserves to be admonished for his actions, but the NYSAC is expected to approve his license, allowing him to serve as his son’s trainer.

It would be wrong to punish Danny Garcia because his father chose the biggest stage of his son’s career to act like an idiot. Danny Garcia, the pride of North Philadelphia, is 33-0 with 19 knockouts and holds the WBC welterweight title. He’s facing Thurman, who is 27-0 with 22 knockouts and owns the WBA welterweight belt. It’s only the third time in boxing history two unbeaten welterweight champions have met in a unification bout. The last one came in 1999 when Felix Trinidad defeated Oscar De La Hoya in one of the most controversial bouts of all time.

Thurman-Garcia also will be just the second bout shown on CBS prime-time in nearly 40 years. The promotion doesn’t need to waste time discussing Angel Garcia, who has stolen enough of the spotlight from the fighters.

The NYSAC reserves the right to deny Angel Garcia a license, but that would be a huge penalty to Danny Garcia. His dad has served as his trainer throughout his career, and Danny Garcia previously has said he wouldn’t fight if his father didn’t work his corner.

During a conference call on Tuesday, Danny Garcia tried to explain his father’s actions.

“My dad’s from inner city Philadelphia. So he wasn’t being racist,” he said. “I know it’s not right, but people talk like that every day in the city of Philly or in any inner city you come from. So he wasn’t being racist. He was just talking like where he’s from. I’m not saying it’s right. I’m not saying it’s wrong. But at the end of the day, it is what it is.”

The bout’s promoter, Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertainment, has said Angel Garcia would not be asked to speak during the midweek press conference next week and hopes the focus will stay on the fight.

“This is Showtime boxing on CBS broadcast network television which is a great story in itself,” DiBella said, “and a great opportunity for the most eyeballs possible to see one of the very best fights you can make in all of boxing.”

Hopefully, the adults can act like adults.