Loreto Garza learned to fight in his back yard as the youngest of seven, sparring with three older brothers, but was 18 before he finally made it to a boxing gym. Over the next three years, he won three Golden Gloves titles and made Team USA, then turned pro just before his 21st birthday in 1983 -- the same year another Sacramento superstar, Tony \"The Tiger\" Lopez, made his pro debut.
\nGarza lost his sixth pro fight, then went on a 23-0-1 run that included knockout wins over former world champions Harry Arroyo and Joe Manley. He then won an electrifying fight over 5-foot-3 Frankie Warren (30-1, his only loss to Buddy McGirt), a bout that many people thought should have been \"Fight of the Year.\" Garza fought the final five rounds with his right eye swollen shut, but Warren came out worse: He retired after that fight after discovering that the retina in one of his eyes had been torn in two places.
\nGarza's world title fight was in Nice, France, on two weeks notice, against Juan Coggi, who was 45-1, and his majority-decisioni upset victory brought hundreds of fans to the Sacramento airport for his return home.
\nAfter a memorable war with Vinny Pazienza (a Garza victory) and a meeting with future Hall of Famer Edwin Rosario (a knockout loss), Garza retired and became a correctional officer for the State of California.
\nDon't miss this sensational interview with a member of the California Boxing Hall of Fame and a Northern California boxing legend.
\nOur interview with Loreto Garza is preceded by an enlightening postmortem of the previous night's Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev showdown by expert analysts Travis Hartman, Rizwaan Zahid, and John J. Raspanti.
\nThis is a lively show, wall to wall.
","author_name":"Ringside Boxing Show"}