Donaire's Robert Garcia wins Yahoo!’s Trainer of the Year Award

Mexican-American trainer Robert Garcia was recently named by Yahoo! as the Trainer of the Year. Garcia trains WBO, Ring Magazine, and WBC Diamond super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire who is also poised to take the 2012 Fighter of the Year plume.

According to Yahoo! boxing writer Kevin Iole, Garcia’s ability to “make sure his fighters are always in shape, are using the style that is best suited for their talents, and to adjust during fights” is what differentiates him from other trainers.

[Related: Nonito Donaire knocks out Arce of Mexico in third round]

Iole also mentioned that Garcia now joins the ranks of legendary trainers such as Eddie Futch, Ray Arcel, Emanuel Steward, Angelo Dundee, and Freddie Roach because he has been successful with fighters with varying styles.

Along with Donaire, Garcia’s other top students in Miguel Angel “Mikey” Garcia and Brandon Rios have also gone undefeated last year. Garcia helped Donaire go up in weight to win titles in the super bantamweight division, producing four victories in 2012.

Mikey Garcia, the trainer’s younger brother, won all of his three fights last year. He knocked out Filipino Bernabe Concepcion, Mauricio Pastrana, and Jonathan Victor Barros to earn a shot at the WBO featherweight title currently held by Orlando Salido.

Rios, on the other hand, narrowly escaped with his undefeated record intact against Richard Abril but the Oxnard-native bounced back with a dominant performance against Mike Alvarado in a Fight of the Year caliber tiff.

However, Garcia’s 2012 was not without defeat. In November, he trained Hernan Marquez for his unification fight against Brian Viloria who was trained by Marvin Somodio, the understudy of Freddie Roach. Marquez was knocked down three times in the fight and Garcia waved the white towel after Marquez was dropped for the third time.

Other than than defeat, 2012 has been a tremendous year for Garcia and 2013 is starting to look like it’s going to be even better. First up for Garcia will be to help his younger brother Mikey get his first world championship against Salido on January 19 at the Madison Square Garden.  - Carlo L. Pamintuan / AMD, GMA News