“We all know, and I know for a fact because I keep learning more stuff and more stuff,” Garcia said to YSM Sports Media. “He asked trainers, ‘How would you train a fighter to beat Duarte?’ He was scared to fight Duarte. He was worried.”
Garcia then went further, saying any fighter asking outside trainers for advice about an opponent is showing fear.
“If I find out any of my fighters are asking different trainers, ‘How do you beat somebody like Duarte?’ my fighter is a [expletive] pussy and he’s afraid,” Garcia said.
Robert says Hitchins even contacted one of Duarte’s former opponents to ask how hard he hits.
“He goes and finds his opponent’s last opponent, ‘How hard does Duarte hit?’ Then you’re afraid, man,” Garcia said.
The comments add to a rough week for Hitchins after O’Shaquie Foster also questioned his toughness publicly. Foster recently claimed Hitchins has a reputation in boxing circles for being scared and lacking heart, pointing to the canceled Duarte fight as evidence.
Hitchins’ official explanation for withdrawing from the February 21 fight was illness after the weigh-in. Reports at the time said he began vomiting shortly after making weight, forcing the cancellation just hours before the event in Las Vegas.
Robert openly challenged that explanation. He argued Hitchins looked healthy during weigh-ins and said a fighter supposedly vomiting all night would not have rehydrated the full 10 pounds allowed by the next-day check weight.
“He pulled out because he was afraid of Duarte,” Garcia said. “Bottom line is he asked trainers, and he asked Duarte’s former opponents how hard Duarte is. When a fighter does that, that means you’re afraid.”
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