Colbert On Garcia Loss: “I Was So Dehydrated It Was Outrageous”

Chris Colbert Hopes to Redeem Himself In a Rematch with Garcia

Chris Colbert explains his loss to Hector Luis Garcia
Chris Colbert (L), Hector Luis Garcia

Chris Colbert Tells His Story On Loss to Hector Luis Garcia


Chris “Primetime” Colbert (16-1, 6 KOs) returns to the ring on March 25 against Jose Valenzuela (12-1, 8 KOs) in a ten-round lightweight contest. For Colbert, it’s his first fight since suffering the first loss of his professional career in a WBA title eliminator against Hector Luis Garcia (16-1, 10 KOs).

In February 2022, Colbert was on the receiving end of a unanimous defeat to Garcia, who later that year went on to capture the WBA junior lightweight title. Garcia took the fight on short notice, yet he dominated Colbert in one of the most surprising results of 2022.

LEARNING FROM DEFEAT

During an appearance on The Last Stand podcast, Primetime talked about where things went wrong and what he learned from that setback.

“I felt like my body was shot. I was gonna call the fight off . . . I learned patience . . . Sometimes you got to listen to the people that’s above you, or that know more than you because they’re telling you for a reason. Relax, go take some time off . . . But I was too fiending to fight, and I had to pay the consequences.

. . . I don’t make excuses. I was so dehydrated for that fight, it was outrageous. My throat was swollen before the fight. I could barely breathe . . . But there are no excuses. He beat me, fair and square. He was the better man that night”

Colbert admitted he was in a funk for months. After taking time off, he went to work and has been training for the last three months.

HUNGRY FOR REVENGE

His goal is to get a rematch with Garcia. But first, he must take care of business against Valenzuela. Colbert feels that if he’s victorious on March 25, he’s back in world title contention.

“So, I’m gonna get this win. This win is going to be an impressive win, and it’s gonna put my name right back up there . . . When I dominate him, now my name is back in the talk. My name is in the talks at 135. My name is in the talks at 130.”

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About Mike W.1943 Articles
Mike is the host of boxing podcast "Pound 4 Pound Boxing Report" and is a Senior Writer for 3kingsboxing.com.