Garcia's father plays the heavy in hyping title fight

LAS VEGAS - The overflow crowd in the lobby of the MGM Grand already had its hero Tuesday afternoon. He was Lucas Matthysse, the one in the modest navy track suit. The one with the silver rosary beads hanging around his neck. The one the fans serenaded.

"Ole, Ole, Ole, Luca, Luca," they sang while waving blue-and-white Argentina flags.

But they needed a villain.

And Juniata Park's Danny Garcia, Matthysse's opponent here on Saturday night, did not quite fit the bill. Garcia and Matthysse's 12-round bout will be on the undercard of the light-middleweight title fight between Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez.

The overzealous emcee, wearing a flat-brim hat and Air Jordan sneakers, could not make Garcia lose his cool. The unified light-welterweight champion was soft-spoken as usual after the fighters made their ceremonial grand arrivals.

His father and corner man, Angel Garcia, then grabbed the microphone. The crowd had its villain.

"Listen. Danny's always been the underestimated guy," Angel Garcia said. "Everybody wants to be an Argentine on Saturday night. But they forget that we live in America, baby. . . . Matthysse is not going to do [anything]."

He passed the microphone to the emcee, took two steps backward, and made an obscene gesture to the crowd. It is Angel Garcia's time-tested tactic: Steer the prefight pressure away from his son, draw the attention of his son's opponent onto the trainer, and allow his 25-year-old son to get the win.

It worked in July 2012 against Amir Khan, again in October against Erik Morales, and in April against Zab Judah. Angel Garcia said his emotions always overtake him in the days leading up to his son's fights.

"He's doing what he does, man," said Danny Garcia (26-0, 16 knockouts). "That's my dad for you right there."

Matthysse, who does not speak English, appeared unfazed by the trainer's remarks. The challenger stood off to the side and laughed. Earlier, the 30-year-old Matthysse (34-2, 32 KOs) guaranteed the crowd, through a translator, that he would knock out Garcia.

"Saturday night, we'll let our fists do the talking," Matthysse said.

The two fighters then faced off. Garcia removed his designer sunglasses and smiled. His smile soon became a scowl and the fighters appeared to stare through each other.

A publicist separated them and Garcia turned toward the crowd. He pounded his heart twice with his right fist and yelled over the booming music. That was the moment Garcia said that the "animal inside came out."