Danny Garcia rises through boxing ranks thanks in part to his father

Almost each day, Angel Garcia would dial the number of his Juniata Park rowhouse and make a promise.

He told his two young sons that when he was released from prison, he would dedicate his life to them.

Garcia said the phone conversations, in which he would ask about school or what was for dinner, helped him "feel a little less helpless" as he spent two years behind bars on a drug conviction.

Garcia left behind a 10-year-old son, Erik, an 8-year-old son, Danny, and his wife, Marissa.

In his father's absence, Danny Garcia developed an inner strength and saw his love for the fight game grow.

"He would say, 'Dad, I'm ready to go to the gym,' " Angel Garcia said. "And I said, 'OK, when I'm out I'll do what I have to do for you.' "

With his father as his trainer, Danny Garcia, 24, will defend his unified light-welterweight world titles on Saturday night against Mexico's Erik Morales at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The bout, to be televised by Showtime, will be Garcia's second defense since he scored a unanimous decision over Morales in March.

The Garcia family has come a long way from the dark days. In 1998, Angel Garcia was sentenced for drug possession and intent to distribute.

"Basically, I was a cocaine dealer," he said. "And I'm not proud of it at all."

But a father's mistake proved to be a son's lesson.

Danny Garcia said that's the reason he keeps his inner circle so tight. Along with his father as his trainer, Garcia is managed by his brother Erik. He still trains at his neighborhood gym and most of his team has been with him since his amateur career.

"That's why we have such a strong bond," Danny Garcia said. "I keep my family with me."

Juniata Park's Harrowgate Boxing Club, on East Venango Street near the El tracks, is home to the Garcias. It's the same gritty gym where Angel Garcia took his son after he returned home from prison.

The upper floor, seldom used before the Garcias took it over a few years ago, is renamed the Swift Boxing Club, after Danny Garcia's nickname.

On the front of the building is a banner that reads, "Welcome Home Champ."

"This place saved my life," Danny Garcia said as he looked around the gym.

Poster-board signs scribbled with inspirational messages cover the walls. In the corner above the steep staircase is a drawing of the Incredible Hulk wearing Garcia's signature leopard print trunks.

A few feet to the right is a photo of Amir Khan, whom Garcia knocked out in July. Covering Khan's face is a piece of tape placed by Angel Garcia in the shape of an X.

"I'm surprised he didn't do it to that yet," said Erik Garcia, pointing to a picture of Morales.

Less than a five-minute walk from Harrowgate is the Garcias' old Juniata Park home. Located at Second and Glenwood Streets, the house often smelled like gas in the winter as the family warmed it with the oven. When the heater was broken, the family would sleep in one room around a kerosene heater.

Danny Garcia said, "It's something every ghetto kid goes through."

The Garcias moved to Juniata Park in 1992 from Hunting Park as Angel Garcia sought a better neighborhood for his family.

"My parents always tried their hardest to keep it together," Danny Garcia said. "Everyone goes through bad times, but we've come a long way now."

Last year, Danny Garcia moved to Bensalem and bought a house for his parents and twin sisters, Angelise and Sianney. Erik Garcia remains in Juniata Park.

Open the door of his Bensalem home and it smells like Puerto Rico, Danny Garcia says, as his mother cooks festive rice dishes almost daily.

Danny Garcia attended Webster Elementary and Jones Middle School before attending George Washington High in the Northeast. Angel Garcia said his son didn't have much of a childhood, mostly because of Angel's discipline.

"It was the gym, school, back in the house," Angel Garcia said. "I'm not proud of it, I took some of his childhood away. He couldn't have some of the fun he wanted to have, but I bet he doesn't regret it today."

Before turning pro in 2007, Danny Garcia was one of the nation's top amateur fighters. But after he won the Ringside Championships national title in 2006, his father was found to have stage four throat cancer.

Angel Garcia, 49, said he spent nearly two years eating through a feeding tube before the cancer went into remission. He trained his son until he became too weak from chemotherapy.

When visitors stopped by their house, they would ask Marissa Garcia when she would begin planning her husband's funeral. Angel Garcia said he knew he had to survive because he had to care for his children.

"To be honest with you, I don't know where I would be if my dad wasn't here right now," Danny Garcia said. "But I'm happy he's here, and I'm happy we're here together, living our dream together."