Veteran trainer Garcia drives California highway to work with Rios, Donaire

For the last seven weeks, Garcia has been commuting between Oxnard, Calif., where he is training Brandon Rios for his Feb. 26 WBA lightweight title fight against Miguel Costa at the Palms, and San Carlos in the Bay Area, where Nonito Donaire is in final preparations for Saturday’s WBC-WBO bantamweight title fight against reigning champion Fernando Montiel at Mandalay Bay.

“It’s a little hectic,” Garcia said of the six-hour drive, which he makes a couple of times a week. “I’ll spend a couple of days with Nonito, then drive back to Oxnard to spend a couple of days with Brandon. But if I have to leave (Donaire’s) camp for a couple of days, I have no problem with that because I know Nonito is training hard.”

Garcia said his time in the car allows him to ponder what strategies to employ with the two fighters and gives him a chance to come up with new ideas.

“I just opened my new gym in Oxnard, so things have been pretty crazy lately,” Garcia said. “When I’m driving, it’s quiet and I can think. It’s the only quality time I get for myself.”

Donaire said he’s comfortable with the arrangement.

“Robert inspires me to be more confident,” said Donaire (25-1, 17 knockouts). “He gives me heart and energy that I need to fight.”

This is the fourth fight that Donaire and Garcia have been together. They’ve developed a strong trust, and Donaire said Garcia knows his strengths and weaknesses as a fighter and has helped improve his defense and footwork while taking advantage of his 5-foot-6-inch height and 68-inch reach for Montiel (43-2-2, 33 KOs).

“I think being taller and having a longer reach is an advantage I need to use,” said Donaire, who is an inch taller than Montiel and has a 3-inch reach advantage. “We’ve been working on that, and I’m very comfortable with our game plan.”

■ NADY ON MEND — Veteran local referee Jay Nady will be out of action for the next few months while he recovers from triple-bypass surgery on Feb. 4 at Sunrise Hospital.

Nady, 64, last worked a fight Dec. 11 when he officiated on the undercard of the Amir Khan-Marcos Maidana junior welterweight title bout at Mandalay Bay. He had surgery on his left knee last month in Phoenix, but doctors discovered several of his arteries were clogged after he collapsed following the surgery.

The bypass procedure was a success, but it could be awhile before Nady is cleared by doctors to return to the ring.

“I’m feeling a lot better,” Nady said after being released Wednesday. “I’m mentally OK. My knee hasn’t felt this good in years.”

Nady said he’s not going to rush back, though he intends to continue officiating.

“There’s nothing I enjoy more than officiating boxing,” he said. “I want to get back, but I’m not going to come back until I know I’m at my best.”

Nady said he hopes to begin working out in three weeks and return to the ring in the next six months.

“Right now, I’m just happy to be alive,” he said. “But I want to make sure I can still do it at a competitive level. I figure within six months. But it could be sooner.”

■ MARQUEZ OUT, MAIDANA IN — Juan Manuel Marquez wanted more than just money to fight Erik Morales on April 9 at the MGM Grand Garden. He wanted his freedom, and after turning down $2.6 million, Marquez is out and Morales will face Maidana in the 12-round junior welterweight main event of a Golden Boy Promotions card.

Marquez’s contract with Golden Boy expires this month, and Golden Boy wanted Marquez to sign an extension. When he refused, Maidana was slotted to face Morales.

Also on the card, lightweight contender Robert Guerrero will meet Michael Katsidis, who lost to Marquez on Nov. 27, and former middleweight champion Winky Wright will face Matthew Macklin.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.