Danny Garcia boxing news
(Photo credit: Ester Lin/Showtime) DANNY “SWIFT” GARCIA, Unified Super Lightweight World Champion
“I am a Puerto Rican. I could have been born on the moon, but I’m still Puerto Rican.
[On fighting in Puerto Rico] “It means a lot to me. Everybody in the stands is going to be Puerto Rican. I’ve never had that before.
“Even though I’m from Philly, that’s not my heritage. It’s important for me to reach out to my fans because I think Puerto Rican boxing needs this right now.
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO- World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Council (WBC) super lightweight champion, Danny “Swift” Garcia will arrive in Puerto Rico tomorrow to participate in the first press conference for his next title defense against Mexican Mauricio Herrera on Saturday, March 15, at the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamon, in a Golden Boy Promotions and Swift Promotions presentation, in association with PR Best Boxing Promotions Promotions (PRBBP), which will air on Showtime.
Karen B. (Baltimore, MD): As a huge Lamont Peterson fan, I was very happy to see him win last Saturday night. What were your thoughts on his performance, and how do you see a proposed bout between he and Danny Garcia going if they do face off next?
Vivek W. (ESB): Coming into the night, I wanted to really get a feel for where Peterson was mentally, at this stage in his life. We’ve seen Peterson at the top of the ranks, and we’ve seen him look far less threatening. The past has taught us that Peterson can be whatever Peterson wants to be when his mind is right. Some would raise the failed steroid test. My response would be that it’s a non-factor. The lead official for the medical staff produced proof that he was being treated for a condition and the traces found were low enough to pass any other drug test in the sport except the overly stringent “zero policy” VADA based testing. Couple that with the fact that he was cleared by the IBF, and certainly you have to view it as a non-issue. What we saw Saturday was a man with a clean system, and after that performance, one could argue a clean slate and a bright future.
WBA/WBC light welterweight champion Danny Garcia (27-0, 16 KO’s) will be back in the ring on March 15th against an opponent still to be determined, according to Dan Rafael. Garcia, 25, last fought in September in beating Lucas Matthysse by a 12 round unanimous decision on the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez pay-per-view card on Showtime. The Garcia-Matthysse fight was the co-feature bout, and it wasn’t quite as good as it was expected to be due to the continuous circling of the ring and holding that Garcia did in the fight.
“Been told @DannySwift’s next fight will be March 15,” Rafael said. “He’ll be defending his title, not moving up, on @SHOsports. Opponent/site TBA.”
Former WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz (29-4-2, 22 KO’s) is expecting big things if he can get past 32-year-old former WBA World welterweight champion Luis Collazo (34-5, 17 KO’s) next month in their scheduled 10 round fight on January 30th at the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Ortiz is hoping that a victory over Collazo will get him a big fight against Danny Garcia, the WBA/WBC light welterweight champion. That fight, if it takes place, would be held in the 147 lb. division.
Before last night’s impressive victory over hard punching Argentine Lucas Matthysse, universally recognized Junior Welterweight Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia felt like the “Rodney Dangerfield” of the sports world.
Although Danny had garnered an undefeated résumé of 26 victories, no losses, and 16 knock-outs leading into last night’s co-main event, most “knowledgeable” boxing scribes and ringside experts discounted the 25 year old’s chances of beating the highly touted knock-out artist from South America.
Even with big victories over former champions Amir Khan, Erik Morales, Kendall Holt, and Zab Judah, it seemed the Philly native was still fighting for the long overdue respect of the boxing community.
Now that Garcia has finally acquired the appropriate accolades that an undisputed champion justly deserves, has he earned a prime spot atop the long waiting list of possible opponents for Floyd Mayweather Jr. as well?
Danny Garcia retained the unified super lightweight world title with an impressive performance against the favored Lucas Matthysse. Utilizing solid combinations and body shots, Garcia executed a solid game plan en route to a unanimous decision (115-111, 114-112, twice).
Matthysse (34-3, 32 KO’s) entered the fight having knocked out five of his last six opponents and a reputation as one of the most feared punchers on the planet. But the Argentinean knockout artist’s power wasn’t as apparent against the aggressive Garcia (27-0, 16 KO’s), who silenced his doubters and defended his WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Titles.
Seemingly down on points, Matthysse came out with a vengeance in the eleventh to kick off the championship rounds, knocking Garcia’s mouthpiece out with a powerful straight right.
But, after a brief pause to recover the mouthpiece, Garcia bounced back and floored Matthysse for the first time in his career.
Danny Garcia Fights For His 0, Successfully Earning Another W
Unfortunately, despite heavy effort, the sports did not fly the way they were expected in this fight until the last couple of rounds. Both fighters had their moments, but it seemed that the urgency took charge in round 9-12, where both men went to work.
Garcia lost his possible 1 point advantage for dropping Matthysse when that same 1 point was deducted from his score due to the low blow.
I would like to call it a close fight, but due to the last few rounds, where Matthysse had clearly faded squeezing the last drops of his remaining stamina, Lucas was ripe for the picking.
In what should be one of the more explosive bouts fight fans have seen in a while, Lucas Matthysse will attempt to take Danny Garcia’s universally recognized title as the best 140 pound fighter on the planet.
It’s a real shame that this match-up has gone under the radar of the mainstream consciousness. But both fighters will get their chance to make a lasting impression on the casual fans of boxing as they tangle in the co-main event of tonight’s fantastic PPV event.
While most ringside observers have dubbed Matthysse to be the overwhelming favorite in the highly anticipated Junior Welterweight war, Danny’s outspoken father and head trainer has clearly taken exception to the media’s lofty praise of the hard hitting Argentine.
In the immortal words of the incomparable Angel Garcia, “Vegas don’t know nothing…the world don’t know nothing…only I know everything!!”
We’ll find out tonight if he truly is boxing’s soothsayer!!
Let’s take a look at the “Tale of the Tape”!!
The tape can’t measure what’s on the line Saturday night between Philadelphia’s Danny “Swift” Garcia and Argentina’s heavy handed Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse but all the ingredients are there for a blockbuster fight that would be a main event any other place or time had it not been scheduled for the Mayweather vs Canelo Alvarez WBC / WBA Super World Light Middleweight fight card.
While both Garcia and Matthysse carry rep’s of their own, they have certainly been banked second shelf in this case but I believe it has all the properties to become the fight of the night.
Let’s assume. I know but lets do it anyway. Garcia is undefeated and is the current WBC Light Welterweight Champion while Matthysse stopping 32 of 34 opponents with about an 86% KO rating the popular Argentine favorite looms the heavy favorite but the facts just somehow add up for a very different entertaining bout.