CONDES' CHALLENGER RAUL GARCIA PROMISED BOON IF VICTORIOUS

In a press conference Friday at La Paz, Baja California, Mexico, the venue of the Condes-Garcia title fight on Feb. 16, Condes' opponent Raul Garcia had been promised a 'car of the year' by the governor of Baja California if he successfully wrests the title from Florante Condes, BoxNoticias has reported.

In response, 'Rayito' Garcia, a native of La Paz, said that "I will not let my people down ... I will do what I had to do to crown myself world champion."

But Garcia (21-0-0 15KOs), may not have faced a more fearsome opponent in Condes (22-3-1 20KOs), nicknamed 'Little Pacquiao', who got twenty of his twenty-two victims stopped inside the distance. "I know this is a very difficult fight for me," Garcia told the Mexican press. "But I have the confidence to bring the title to Mexico."

Condes, who is currently training in the Philippines with former world champion Morris East, has been beset with managerial and promotional problems ever since he won the IBF minimumweight title last July in Jakarta, Indonesia resulting in Condes filing a case against his former handler Aljoe Jaro at the GAB office in Manila. His promoters Bobby Bostick and Cezar Trevino have also issued threats to sue Condes' manager Dante Ortiz and to block the Feb. 16 title bout. Ortiz had negotiated the Feb. 16 fight of Condes without the participation of Bostick and Trevino claiming that the duo had not delivered their job as Condes' promoters.