Danny Óscar Garcia (born March 20, 1988) is an American
professional boxer
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...
. He has held multiple world championships in two
weight classes
Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Altern ...
, including the
unified WBA (Super)
The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...
,
WBC, ''
Ring
Ring may refer to:
* Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry
* To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell
:(hence) to initiate a telephone connection
Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
'' magazine and
lineal light welterweight
Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional boxing
In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...
titles between 2012 and 2015, and the WBC
welterweight
Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...
title from 2016 to 2017. As of August 2020, he is ranked as the world's sixth best active welterweight by ''The Ring'', seventh by the
Transnational Boxing Rankings Board
The Transnational Boxing Rankings Board (TBRB) is an all-volunteer initiative formed in October 2012 with the intention of providing professional boxing with authoritative top-ten rankings, identifying the singular world champion of every divisio ...
, and eighth by
BoxRec
BoxRec or boxrec.com is a website dedicated to holding updated records of professional and amateur boxers, both male and female. It also maintains a MediaWiki-based encyclopaedia of boxing.
The objective of the site is to document every profess ...
.
Early life
Garcia was born in North Philadelphia to Puerto Rican parents. His mother was from
Bayamón and his father was from
Naguabo. His father, Ángel, was also a boxer who introduced him to boxing, taking him to Philadelphia's Harrowgate Boxing Club when he was ten years old, which was the minimum age allowed by local law for a minor to train. Ángel has since been Danny's primary boxing coach. Having been raised in the city with the second-largest Puerto Rican community in the United States, Danny identified with his heritage, stating early in his career the desire to become the "next great Puerto Rican fighter".
Danny Garcia admired Boxing Hall of Famer
Carlos Ortiz as his favorite boxer and considered Ortiz's fight against Lenny Matthews in Philadelphia among the most memorable he had ever witnessed. Garcia finished his amateur career with 107 wins 13 losses. Garcia was born with a
sixth toe on his right foot which he was embarrassed of as a child, but jokingly says that it gives him a competitive advantage to stay on balance during fights.
Amateur highlights
* 2006 U.S. national champion
* 2005 Tammer Tournament champion
* 2005 Under-19 national champion
Professional career
Light welterweight
Early career
Garcia made his professional debut on November 17, 2007, at the
Borgata Hotel Casino in
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497. against Mike Denby. He opened up by throwing power shots, but it was a short right that sent Denby to the canvas. Another right put Denby down again in a neutral corner. Garcia moved in for the knockout, and sent Denby down for the third and final time with a right-left combination. After the third knockdown, the referee waved the bout over. His next fight took place on the undercard of the
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (''né'' Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer. He currently owns a team in the NASCAR Cup Series named The Money Team Racing. As a professional boxer he competed b ...
–
Ricky Hatton
Richard John Hatton (born 6 October 1978) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2012, and has since worked as a boxing promoter and trainer. During his boxing career he held multiple world championships at li ...
superfight on December 8, 2007, at the
MGM Grand in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. Garcia defeated Jesús Villareal by second-round technical knockout. On January 11, 2008, at the
Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa
Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa is a Native American gaming casino, of the Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians, located in Cabazon, California, United States, near San Gorgonio Pass. The casino has 310 rooms and suites. A , 27-story resort, Mor ...
in
Cabazon, California
Cabazon (Spanish: ''Cabazón'') is a unincorporated community in Riverside County, California, United States. Cabazon is on the Pacific Crest Trail.
In the 21st century, the area has become a tourist stop, due to the Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa ...
, Garcia defeated Marlo Córtez by second-round knockout. With precise accurate punches, he disabled Cortéz, dropping him with a left hook early in the second round, forcing the referee to stop the contest.
On March 15, 2008, at the
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
Mandalay Bay is a 43-story luxury resort and casino at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and The Blackstone Group and operated by MGM Resorts International. It was developed by Circus Circus ...
in Las Vegas, Garcia fought Charles Wade. He utilized his speed and quickness to get close to Wade before blasting him with a left hook to knock him out.
In his fifth professional fight, Garcia fought Guadalupe Díaz, on April 19, 2008, at the
Thomas & Mack Center
The Thomas & Mack Center is a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada. It is home of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team of the Mountain West Conference.
History
The facility was fi ...
in Las Vegas. He hurt Díaz early in the fight with a barrage of punches. The referee was forced to stop the fight after Díaz was on wobbly legs. His next fight took place on May 3, 2008, at the
Home Depot Center
Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignit ...
in
Carson, California
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...
against Julio Gamboa. Garcia was in command of the fight, using his fast hands and good power to win by unanimous decision. On the undercard of the
Bernard Hopkins
Bernard Hopkins Jr. (born January 15, 1965) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2016. He is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight class ...
–
Kelly Pavlik
Kelly Robert Pavlik (born April 5, 1982) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2012. He won the unified WBC, WBO, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal middleweight titles by defeating Jermain Taylor in 2007, and made three ...
fight for the world
middleweight
Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to .
Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...
championship at
Boardwalk Hall
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-purpose arena in Atlantic City in Atlantic County, New Jersey. It was Atlantic City's primary convention center until the opening of the Atlanti ...
in
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
, Garcia stopped Dean Nash by technical knockout after three knockdowns in the third round.
He survived a tough fight with
Ashley Theophane
Ashley Theophane (born 30 August 1980) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2020. He held the British super-lightweight title from 2011 to 2012 and challenged for the WBA super-lightweight title in 2016.
He has fo ...
in February 2010, coming away with a split-decision victory. Garcia knocked out faded contender
Mike Arnaoutis
Michalis John Arnaoutis is a Greek professional boxer who challenged for the WBO light welterweight title in 2006. At regional level he held the WBO- NABO light welterweight title from 2004 to 2006 and the IBF-USBA light welterweight title from ...
in four rounds later in the year. In his next contest held in April 2011, he defeated former lightweight titlist
Nate Campbell
Nathaniel "Nate" Campbell III (born March 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2014, and currently works as a TV host. In boxing he held the unified WBA (Undisputed), IBF and WBO lightweight titles from 200 ...
. On August 15, 2011, Garcia won the vacant NABO Jr. welterweight belt in Los Angeles fighting on the HBO PPV undercard of
Hopkins vs. Dawson II, on a split decision over former champion
Kendall Holt
Kendall Holt (born June 14, 1981) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2013, and held the WBO junior welterweight title from 2008 to 2009.
Early life
Holt had a very tough upbringing in his native Paterson, New Je ...
.
Garcia vs. Morales I
It was announced that Garcia would get his first world title opportunity, challenging Mexican legend and ''Ring'' Top 10 light welterweight,
Érik Morales
Erik Isaac Morales Elvira (; born September 1, 1976) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2012. He is the first Mexico-born boxer in history to win world titles in four different weight classes, having held the WBC ...
(52-7, 36 KOs) for the WBC super lightweight championship in another chapter of the infamous "Puerto Rico vs. Mexico" boxing rivalry. The fight took place on March 24, 2012, at the
Reliant Arena
The NRG Arena (formerly the Astroarena and Reliant Arena), is a 350,000 square feet (33,000 m²) sports center in NRG Park, in Houston, Texas, USA.
Building format
The main partition on the first floor is the "Arena Proper", a 24,000 gross squar ...
in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. The fight was originally scheduled to take place on January 28, but was postponed because Morales had emergency
gallbladder surgery.
Morales came in two pounds over the contracted limit and was subsequently stripped by the WBC of his title. Thus, the title was only at stake for Garcia. Morales was fined $50,000 ($25,000 per pound) which was given to Garcia. Morales earned a $1 million purse, while Garcia was due to make $175,000. This increased to $225,000 following the fines levied against Morales. 5,590 was announced as the attendance for the night. Garcia began the fight slowly, which Morales used to his advantage and injured his nose. As the fight progressed, Garcia gained control, scoring a knockdown in the eleventh round before receiving a unanimous decision in his favor. The scores granted by the judges were 118–111, 117–110 and 116–112 in favour of Garcia. CompuBox statistics showed Garcia landing 238 of 779 punches (31%), and Morales landing 164 of 547 shots (30%).
Garcia vs. Khan
On 23 May 2012, ESPN announced that Garcia would next fight against the British boxer
Amir Khan for the WBA (Super) title. At the pre-fight press conference on 4 June, Khan and Garcia's fathers got into a heated exchange resulting in both fighters promising to knock the other out on 14 July. At the time the fight was announced, WBC were unsure whether to sanction the fight, as Garcia had a mandatory defence due against
Ajose Olusegun. The fight was scheduled to take place on 14 July 2012, in Las Vegas. The fight was a title unification bout, as Garcia's WBC title and Khan's WBA (Super) title were both on the line. Khan entered the fight as a heavy favorite, with betting odds at 1–7 in his favor.
Khan seemed the faster of the two early, but Garcia pretty quickly found a way to catch many of Khan's punches and was clearly finding the range with his own. Khan won the first two rounds and could have been on his way to winning the third, but with twenty-nine seconds left in the round Garcia countered a Khan combination with a left hook that caught Khan on the neck and dropped him to the canvas. Khan rose to his feet quickly but had been hurt by the punch, and referee
Kenny Bayless
Kenny Bayless (born May 4, 1950) is an American boxing referee from Nevada. He is best known for having refereed many of the sport's most well-known fights.
Bayless's catchphrase, when giving his instructions to the fighters before the opening ...
took an extra few seconds after administering the standing eight count to make sure that Khan could continue. Garcia resumed his attack and nearly finished off Khan, who was saved when the bell rang to end the round. Eight seconds into the fourth Khan, now on unsteady legs, could not withstand a barrage of punches from Garcia, who was now taking control of the fight. Garcia kept pounding away at Khan, who lost his balance and touched the canvas with his gloves, thus forcing Bayless to administer another standing eight count as a fighter is considered down once any body part of his other than his feet touch the ring after a punch. Khan tried to rally and stay in the fight, but with forty-eight seconds left in the fourth round Garcia knocked him down for a third time. This time, Khan got up quickly, appeared to have recovered from the barrage and told Bayless he was okay to continue. Bayless, after considering Khan's position, decided that the champion had taken enough punishment and stopped the fight, awarding a technical knockout victory.
After the fight, Khan said, "It wasn't my night. I was coming in with my hands down and Danny took advantage of that. He countered very well against me." According to CompuBox stats, Khan landed 92 of 206 punches thrown (45%), with 46 jabs and 46 power shots landed. Garcia landed 65 of his 216 thrown (30%), 60 of which were power shots. Khan earned $950,000, while Garcia had a $520,000 purse. Nevada State Athletic Commission announced the fight generated a total gate of $426,152 from 3,147 tickets sold. The fight averaged 1.3 million viewers on
HBO World Championship Boxing
''HBO World Championship Boxing'' (in later years stylized in its title card as ''HBO Boxing – World Championship'') was an American sports television series on premium television network HBO. It premiered on January 22, 1973 with a fight that ...
.
Garcia vs. Morales II
On August 23, 2012, Garcia agreed to fight ''Ring'' top 10 light welterweight,
Érik Morales
Erik Isaac Morales Elvira (; born September 1, 1976) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2012. He is the first Mexico-born boxer in history to win world titles in four different weight classes, having held the WBC ...
(52-8, 36 KOs) in a rematch. The fight was scheduled to take place on October 20, in Brooklyn. On October 19, it was revealed that Morales had tested positive for banned substance
clenbuterol
Clenbuterol is a sympathomimetic amine used by sufferers of breathing disorders as a decongestant and bronchodilator. People with chronic breathing disorders such as asthma use this as a bronchodilator to make breathing easier. It is most commonl ...
. This was part of a random drug test from the
U.S. Anti-Doping Agency
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent d ...
. It was said that the card would still take place. Garcia decided to go ahead with the fight, where he would see a career-high $1 million purse. In front of 11,112 at the newly opened
Barclays Center
Barclays Center is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty o ...
, Garcia retained his WBC, WBA (Super) & The Ring title's by knocking out Morales with a thunderous left hook in the fourth round. Garcia landed only 57 of 220 punches thrown (26%), but it was clear he was looking for an early win. After the fight, Garcia said, "I showed him too much respect in the first fight. You see the first fight, I thought this fight would be more of a war. I never duck anybody. I fought Khan and no one gave me a chance. Keep lining them up and I'll knock them down."
Garcia vs. Judah
On November 6, Golden Boy Promotions announced a deal had been reached for Garcia to defend his world titles against former two-weight champion
Zab Judah
Zabdiel Judah (born October 27, 1977) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2019. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF and WBO junior welterweight titles between 2000 and 2004 ...
(42-7, 29 KOs), which the Barclays Center being the front runners to host the event on January 19, 2013. The fight took place on Showtime. On December 1, the official press conference got heated up between Judah and Angel Garcia, after Angel began insulted Judah over his previous losses and performances. Judah eventually stood up and shouted, "I have a lot of respect for his father but I won't be disrespected." On January 29, it was reported that Garcia had suffered a rib injury, pushing the fight back to take place on April 27 instead. Judah was aiming to become the first ever four-time light welterweight world champion.
In front of an announced crowd of 13,048, Garcia defeated Judah by unanimous decision (115-112, 114–112, 116–111). He earned $1.25 million, a career-high purse at the time, whilst Judah earned $300,000, Garcia started the fight off strong landing body shots. Garcia badly shook Judah in round 5 and it was believed the fight would come to an end in the next round. Although Garcia was unable to finish the fight in the sixth round, he landed many clean shots and dominated the round. One judge scored the round 10-8 for Garcia, although there was no official knockdowns. García eventually dropped Judah in round 8 following a straight right. After the fight, Garcia said, "Regarding the bad blood: It's gone. It's a respect. As you can see, it's a lot of bad blood. I've got cuts, he has cuts. We came here and gave the people of Brooklyn a nice show." Both fighters were cut due to accidental clash of heads in the final round. Richard Schaefer stated Garcia would likely meet the winner of the Peterson vs. Matthysse fight, which was scheduled to take place on May 18. Matthysse won the fight via knockout.
Garcia vs. Matthysse
On July 18, 2013, it was confirmed that Garcia would meet Argentine slugger
Lucas Matthysse
Lucas Martín Matthysse (; born 27 September 1982) is an Argentine former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2018. He held the WBA (Regular) welterweight title in 2018 and the WBC interim super lightweight title from 2012 to 2013. Mat ...
(34-2, 32 KOs) on the undercard of the
Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez superfight September 14, 2013 at the
MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Garcia was a 2-1 underdog going into the fight. With both fighters earning an undisclosed seven-figure purse, the fight would be one of the most expensive undercard fights in history.
Garcia stood firm and fought a mature fight. Matthysse won several of the early rounds, putting heavy pressure on the champion by utilizing speed and punching power. In the middle rounds, Matthysse sustained an injury to his right eye from a Garcia flinch, to which Garcia targeted the eye throughout the remainder of the fight, subsequently taking the lead on the scorecards and closing the challengers eye. In the eleventh round Matthysse landed a punch that knocked out Garcia's mouthpiece, but Garcia turned the tables and knocked Matthysse down in the 11th round with a four-punch combination. Garcia was docked a point in the final round for low blows, but the last round was very competitive with both champion and challenger trading big shots. Garcia took the unanimous decision (115-111, 114-112 and 114–112), giving Matthysse his first decisive loss. This fight also clarified that Garcia's chin is capable of taking big shots, as it was widely touted before the fight that Garcia would not be able to absorb the huge punching power that Matthysse is famous for. With the victory, Garcia won the vacant ''Lineal'' light welterweight title.
For defeating Judah and Matthysse, Garcia was named 2013 Boxer of the Year by
Stiff Jab
Stiff may refer to:
* Stiff, a human corpse
* Stiffness, a material's resistance to bending
* ''Stiff'' (novel), a novel by Shane Maloney in his Murray Whelan series
** ''Stiff'' (film), an Australian TV movie based on the novel
* Stiff (profe ...
.
Garcia vs. Herrera
An official press conference took place in February 2014 to announce Garcia's next title defence, against veteran boxer
Mauricio Herrera
Mauricio Herrera (born May 24, 1980) is an American professional boxer who held the WBA interim super lightweight title in 2014.
Professional career
Herrera turned pro at age 27, signing with Golden Boy Promotions.
On January 7, 2011 Herre ...
(20-3, 7 KOs). The fight was to be aired on Showtime and was the first fight for Garcia in his parents homeland of
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
. The fight took place at
Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez
Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez (English: Ruben Rodríguez Coliseum) is an indoor sporting arena in Puerto Rico. The coliseum was dedicated to Rubén Rodríguez (former player of the Vaqueros de Bayamón). It is located in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. It ...
in
Bayamón. Garcia retained his titles in a disputed majority decision win over Herrera. The official scorecards read (114-114, 116–112, 116–112). Showtime commentators
Al Bernstein
Al Bernstein (born September 15, 1950) is an American sportscaster, writer, stage performer, recording artist, and speaker.
Journalism career
In the 1970s, Bernstein was a newspaperman, working at Lerner Newspapers in Chicago. He eventually be ...
,
Paulie Malignaggi
Paul "Paulie" Malignaggi (; ; born November 23, 1980) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017 and has since worked as a boxing commentator and analyst. He held world championships in two weight classes, including ...
, and
Steve Farhood
Steven "Steve" Farhood (born 15 February 1957) is an American boxing historian and analyst.
His life
Farhood was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Lebanese parents. Farhood served as editor-in-chief of '' The Ring'' and ''KO Magazine''. He also ser ...
scored the fight in favor of Herrera, but two judges scored it for Garcia, with one card at draw. Herrera's jab consistently scored and he was viewed by onlookers as the slightly busier fighter. After the fight, Garcia said about Herrera, "He's a crafty veteran. I know every time I step in the ring every contender I fight wants what I got. So they gonna train their heart out and give everything they got, so I expected that. He's a good fighter and it was a good challenge. I had to make adjustment and I'm a true champion." CompuBox Stats showed that Garcia landed on 204 of 675 punches thrown (30%), while Herrera landed 221 of his 695 punches (32%). Herrera believed he won the fight. After four rounds, it was announced the scorecards were 40–36, 39-37 and 38–38 in favour of Garcia. After eight rounds, two judges had Garcia ahead at 78-74 and 77–75, whilst the third judge had it 77-75 for Herrera. According to Bobby Hunter, known for collecting scorecards, 70% of the media scored the fight in favour of Herrera.
Garcia vs. Salka
On June 24, 2014, it was announced that García would fight lightweight contender
Rod Salka (19-3, 3 KOs) at the Barclays Center on August 9 on a Showtime triple-header, which would also included
Lamont Peterson
Lamont Peterson (born January 24, 1984) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2019. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF light welterweight title between 2011 and 2015, and the WBA (R ...
vs. Edgar "El Chamaco" Santana. The plan was for Garcia vs. Peterson, if both fighters were able to win their respected fights. Garcia was criticized for choosing to fight Salka, as many believed it was mis-match. At the time, Salka was not ranked at light welterweight. The card also received negative press. ESPN's Teddy Atlas slammed the sanctioning bodies. The bout, which was originally announced as a 12-round fight, was dropped to a 10 rounder and included a catchweight of 142 pounds. No world titles were sanctioned for the fight. WBC president explained, as it was a voluntary and Salka was not ranked, they would not sanction the fight, however if Garcia was to lose, the title would be declared vacant.
The fight proved to be a mis-match after Garcia brutally knocked out Salka in round 2 with a left hook, ending the fight.
Garcia said in relation to taking fight, “Fans last forever; boxing is a short-term career. I got to do what’s best for my life and my career. You can be 70-years-old and a fan. I can only box for another 10 years. I got to do what’s best for me.”
Garcia vs. Peterson
On January 14, 2015,
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
announced a partnership with
Premier Boxing Champions
''Premier Boxing Champions'' (PBC) is an ongoing series of televised boxing events connected to manager Al Haymon.
PBC was initially promoted as an effort to return boxing to mainstream broadcast and cable television, as opposed to premium chann ...
to air premium fights on network television. It was announced that Garcia and
Lamont Peterson
Lamont Peterson (born January 24, 1984) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2019. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF light welterweight title between 2011 and 2015, and the WBA (R ...
would fight April 11, 2015 on NBC primetime. The fight was at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The highly anticipated bout between Garcia and Peterson took place at a 143-pound catch weight and was a non-title bout. Both fighters had something to prove as Garcia was coming off an extremely tough fight with Mauricio Herrera and Peterson was still reeling from a knockout loss to Lucas Matthysse in 2013.
In the early rounds Peterson was very defensive and attempted to frustrate Garcia with his awkward style. Garcia was the busier fighter the first four or five rounds throwing and landing more punches although having trouble landing clean punches on Peterson. Both boxers took turns setting the pace, Garcia landing combinations and heavily to the body, Peterson jabbing and landing clean single power punches. Peterson's size and athleticism allowed him to stay in the fight even in the face of waves of serious Garcia body blows. Peterson looked strong going into rounds 10, 11, 12, but gave away round ten completely. Garcia maintained a steady attack in the last three rounds of the fight while Peterson began coming forward and throwing everything he had (possibly suspecting he was trailing). Despite a very strong showing by Peterson, Garcia was awarded a majority decision by scores of 114-114, 115–113, 115–113. For the fight, Garcia earned $1.5 million compared to Peterson, who earned a $1.2 million purse. CompuBox stats showed that both fighters stayed busy, with Garcia landing 173 of 589 punches (29%), with Peterson more accurate, landing 170 of his 494 thrown (34%).
Welterweight
Garcia vs. Malignaggi
On June 4, 2015, it was announced that Garcia would make his welterweight debut against 34 year old former world champion
Paulie Malignaggi
Paul "Paulie" Malignaggi (; ; born November 23, 1980) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017 and has since worked as a boxing commentator and analyst. He held world championships in two weight classes, including ...
(33-6, 7 KOs) at
Barclays Center
Barclays Center is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty o ...
,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
in a
Premier Boxing Champions
''Premier Boxing Champions'' (PBC) is an ongoing series of televised boxing events connected to manager Al Haymon.
PBC was initially promoted as an effort to return boxing to mainstream broadcast and cable television, as opposed to premium chann ...
fight shown on
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
on August 1. Before a crowd of 7,237, García won the fight with a ninth-round technical knockout at 2:22 of the round. Garcia pushed the pace early, walking through Malignaggi's jab and firing to the head and body with both hands, particularly the right. Malignaggi was cut above his right eye by the third round and had a large welt beneath the right eye in the sixth, having been bludgeoned by several huge shots from García. Malignaggi was still taking a beating at the 2:22 mark of the ninth, when referee Arthur Mercante Jr. wrapped him in his arms to signal the end, beating Malignaggi's corner, which was about to throw in the towel. For the fight, Garcia's purse was $1.25 million compared to Malignaggi's $550,000. At the time of stoppage, the three judges' scorecards read 79–73, 79-73 and 78–74 in favour of Garcia. Following the fight, Malignaggi reflected on whether or not he would continue to fight after the defeat.
Garcia vs. Guerrero
On November 24, 2015, it was announced that Garcia would be facing
Robert Guerrero
Robert Joseph Guerrero (born March 27, 1983) is an American professional boxer. He has held world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF featherweight title twice between 2006 and 2008, and the IBF junior lightweight title from 20 ...
on January 23, 2016, at
Staples Center
Crypto.com Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. The arena opened on October 17, 1999; it was ...
in Los Angeles in a
PBC fight broadcast on
FOX
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
which was the first ever major PBC event to be broadcast on the network. Garcia won by unanimous decision 116-112 scored by all judges becoming the new WBC welterweight champion. The attendance was announced 12,052 at the Staples Center. Garcia celebrated in the ring after the fight with his daughter Philly and praised Guerrero, "I'm excited. Guerrero is tough. No one has ever stopped him. He came to fight. He was in shape. I'm taking nothing away from him." Garcia earned a base purse of $1.5 million, $300,000 more than Guerrero.
Garcia vs. Vargas
After holding out for a possible super fight with
Floyd Mayweather
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* Floyd, Iow ...
, Garcia announced his next fight would be against Colombian fringe contender
Samuel Vargas
Samuel Andrés Vargas Ariza (born 12 April 1989) is a Canadian-Colombian professional boxer.
Professional career
Vargas turned professional in 2010 at the age of 20, scoring a technical knockout (TKO) victory against Todd Furler in Montreal, Q ...
(25-2-1, 13 KOs) at the
Liacouras Center
The Liacouras Center is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose venue which opened in 1997 and was originally named "''The Apollo of Temple''". The arena was renamed in 2000 for Temple University President, Peter J. Liacouras. It is part of a $107 mill ...
in
Temple University's in Philadelphia on November 12. It was said that the fight would be a non-title, 10 round fight and would pave the way for a unification fight with
Keith Thurman
Keith Fitzgerald Thurman Jr. (born November 23, 1988) is an American professional boxer. He is a former unified welterweight world champion, having held the WBA title from 2015 to 2019 (promoted to Super champion in 2017), and the WBC title fr ...
in 2017. This was the first time Garcia fought in his hometown of Philadelphia since 2010. After dropping Vargas in round 2, the fight became one sided. Garcia eventually forced the referee to stop the fight in round 7 following a barrage of punches which pinned Vargas against the ropes. Thurman was on commentator duty for the fight and entered the ring after the fight was over to engage a staredown and exchange of words with Garcia.
Garcia vs. Thurman
On October 25,
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
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announced several fights to take place towards the end of 2016 and early 2017. One of them was the much anticipated welterweight unification fight between Garcia and fellow undefeated welterweight champion
Keith Thurman
Keith Fitzgerald Thurman Jr. (born November 23, 1988) is an American professional boxer. He is a former unified welterweight world champion, having held the WBA title from 2015 to 2019 (promoted to Super champion in 2017), and the WBC title fr ...
(27-0, 22 KOs), who holds the
WBA title. Garcia defeated journeyman
Samuel Vargas
Samuel Andrés Vargas Ariza (born 12 April 1989) is a Canadian-Colombian professional boxer.
Professional career
Vargas turned professional in 2010 at the age of 20, scoring a technical knockout (TKO) victory against Todd Furler in Montreal, Q ...
in a tune-up fight on November 12, which officially set up the fight for March 4, 2017 at the Barclays Center in New York City.
Thurman chose not to have any tune-up and would fight Garcia after a long 9 month rest. At a press conference on January 18, 2017, the fight was officially announced and it was said that it would be shown live on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
. The conference got extremely heated, leading to Angel Garcia standing up and shouting racial slurs towards Thurman.
Garcia lost the fight on a split decision with the scorecards 116–112, 113-115 & 115–113 in favor of Thurman, making Thurman the unified welterweight world champion. Thurman started off as the aggressor hitting and moving back to avoid García's counter hooks. This was the case for the majority of the fight. Garcia began coming forward through the middle rounds and push Thurman on the back foot. Thurman backed off the championship rounds believing he had a comfortable enough lead to win the fight. MC
Jimmy Lennon Jr. gave Garcia false hope that he had won the fight when he announced WBA before WBC, making Garcia believe he had won. Garcia spoke in the post fight interview believing he had a good case of winning the fight, "I thought I won, and I was pushing the fight, but it is what it is. He was trying to counter. I had to wait to find my spots." Compubox stats showed Thurman landed 147 of 570 punches thrown, a percentage of 26% and Garcia landed 130 punches of his 434 thrown (30%). It was also reported that both fighters received a purse of $2 million a piece. The fight was attended by a boxing record of 16,533 at the Barclays Center. According to ''The Ring'', the fight peaked at 5.1 million viewers, which was at the last three rounds. The fight averaged 3.74 million viewers. This was the first time since 1998 that a Saturday primetime boxing telecast drew that kind of audience. The entire card drew an average 3.1 million viewers.
Garcia vs. Ríos
Due to Keith Thurman being sidelined for the remainder of 2017, on July 17 the WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told
ESPN Deportes
ESPN Deportes (, ''ESPN Sports'') is an American multinational Spanish-language pay television sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (whi ...
, that he would likely order a fight between the #1 ranked Shawn Porter (27-2-1, 17 KOs) and #2 García for the Interim WBC title. He also went on to state, if Porter or Garcia declined to take part in the interim title fight, he would move on to the next highest available ranked fighter. At that time,
Manny Pacquiao
Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...
was #3,
Jessie Vargas
Jessie Vargas (born May 10, 1989) is an American professional boxer. He is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBA (Regular) and IBO super lightweight titles in 2014, and the WBO welterweight title in 2016. As of Augu ...
was #4 and
Konstantin Ponomarev was ranked #5 by the WBC. A day later, Porter added fuel to the speculation when he called out Garcia in a
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
-esque promo on social media, "I just heard that the WBC will ask Showtime Shawn Porter to fight another title eliminator. And they want me to fight none other than the cherry picker himself - Danny Garcia. What I say to you Danny Garcia - let's get it on," Porter claimed the ball was now in Garcia's court.
According to reports on October 3, a deal was close to being made between Garcia and former champion and WBC #15
Brandon Ríos
Brandon Lee Ríos (born April 29, 1986) is an American professional boxer. He held the WBA lightweight title in 2011 and has challenged once for the WBO welterweight title in 2015. Nicknamed "Bam Bam", Ríos was known for his aggressive pressur ...
(34-3-1, 25 KOs) to take place in December 2017. On December 15, it was reported a fight was close to being made to take place on February 17, 2018, in Las Vegas. The fight was confirmed a week later to take place at the
Mandalay Bay Events Center
The Michelob Ultra Arena, formerly the Mandalay Bay Events Center, is a 12,000-seat multi-purpose indoor arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by MGM Resorts In ...
in
Paradise, Nevada
Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the fif ...
on Showtime. The last time Garcia fought at Mandalay Bay, he knocked out
Amir Khan to unify the light welterweight division in 2012. In January 2018, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman sanctioned the fight as a final eliminator for the WBC title. Sulaiman explained, "Champion Keith Thurman will return in a voluntary title defense, as he has recovered from his injury. Shawn Porter is the
mandatory challenger In professional boxing and some other combat sports, a mandatory challenger is an opponent whom a champion must either fight or be forced to vacate their title as champion. A mandatory defence is the opposite of a voluntary defence, where the champi ...
, and Danny Garcia will fight Brandon Ríos in a final elimination bout for the second mandatory due to the inactivity of Thurman." Garcia boxed expertly in jabbing and countering Ríos on the move. The fight came to an end in round 9 with a 1-punch knockout in front of 6,240 fans in attendance. Ríos beat the 10 count, however referee Kenny Baylis stopped the fight. Garcia set Ríos up with a perfect right hand counter that knocked him down on his back. Ríos landed some good shots in the 6th round, but was mostly being hit clean. At the time of stoppage, Garcia was ahead by the scores 78–74, 79-73 and 79–73. After the fight, Shawn Porter jumped into the ring and tried calling out Garcia. Showtime interviewer
Jim Gray did not like this as he believed Garcia deserved his moment and told Porter and his team to exit the ring. For the fight, Garcia made $1.25 million and Ríos had a $500,000 purse. According to CompuBox, Garcia landed 188 of 614 punches thrown (31%) and Ríos landed 109 of his 605 (18%). According to Nielsen Media Research, the fight averaged 516,000 viewers and peaked at 558,000 viewers on Showtime.
Garcia vs. Porter
On April 24, Thurman vacated his WBC title, forcing the organisation to mandate Porter vs. Garcia for the vacant title. On May 9, the WBC ordered purse bids to take place on May 25 if no agreement had been made, although the WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman confirmed talks were going well and a deal could be finalized before the bids. On the morning of May 25, Tom Brown informed the WBC a deal was in place for the bout to take place, thus the purse bids were cancelled. Brown stated the fight would take place at the
Barclays Center
Barclays Center is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty o ...
in either August or September 2018. On July 24, the long-awaited announcement was finally made confirming the bout to take place at the Barclays Center on September 8, 2018. Before a crowd of 13,058 in attendance, Porter became a two-time world champion after defeating Garcia via unanimous decision. The official scores were 116–112, 115–113, 115–113 in Porter's favour. Porter started off slowly in the first four rounds but then came on in the second half and took over, dominating the remainder of the bout. Both boxers boxed in the first quarter of the fight. Porter had little success in doing this. He then made adjustments and began fighting more on the inside and connecting with body shots. One of Porter's main attributes was the way he doubled his jab. It appeared Garcia slowed down in the second half of the fight. This was likely due to the body attack from Porter. Garcia believed he won the fight, but did not complain about the result. IBF champion Errol Spence Jr. entered the ring during Porter's post-fight interview with Porter stating a fight between the pair would be the 'easiest to make' in boxing. CompuBox stats showed that Porter landed 180 of 742 punches thrown (24%) and Garcia landed with 168 of his 472 thrown (36%). For the fight, Porter earned $1 million and Garcia made $1.2 million. The fight averaged 619,000 viewers and peaked at 690,000 viewers.
Garcia vs. Granados
On November 13, 2018, PBC, along with their new partnership with FOX announced the 2019 first half schedule. It was announced that Garcia would return to the ring in April 2019 against
Adrián Granados
Adrián René Granados (born August 14, 1989) is an American professional boxer.
Amateur career
Granados had an amateur record of 75-12. He won the 2008 Junior Olympic State and Regional Championship. That same year, he ranked 5th in the national ...
(20-6-2, 14 KOs, 1 NC). Granados had previously called out Garcia, before his loss to Porter. The fight was set to take place on April 20. On November 27, it was reported that
Top Rank
Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, including Muh ...
had offered García a guaranteed $3m purse to challenge
WBO champion Terence Crawford
Terence Allan Crawford (born September 28, 1987) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the WBO welterweight title since 2018. Previously he held the WBO and ''Ring'' maga ...
on March 23, 2019, on
ESPN PPV
ESPN PPV is the banner for pay-per-view events produced by ESPN. The service primarily serves as the distributor for ESPN College Extra, an Out-of-market sports package that carries college basketball and football events. The service was origina ...
, which included an upside of the pay-per-view revenue. The offer was made to Garcia's father Angel from Top Rank's Todd duBoef and Carl Moretti. According to Moretti, Angel stated he would discuss the deal with Danny but then never got back to them. At the time Moretti said they offered the deal, there was a chance the Garcia Granados fight was already agreed upon.
Garcia stopped Granados in the seventh round, after dropping him to the canvas several times during their bout.
Honors and awards
Garcia was named the 2013 Philadelphia Pro Athlete of the Year by the
Philadelphia Sports Writers Association.
Professional boxing record
See also
*
List of Puerto Rican boxing world champions
In Puerto Rico, boxing is considered a major sport, having produced more amateur and professional world champions than any other sport in its history. Puerto Rico ranks 5th worldwide between countries with most boxing world champions in history (o ...
References
External links
*
Danny García profileat ''
Premier Boxing Champions
''Premier Boxing Champions'' (PBC) is an ongoing series of televised boxing events connected to manager Al Haymon.
PBC was initially promoted as an effort to return boxing to mainstream broadcast and cable television, as opposed to premium chann ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Danny
1988 births
Boxers from Philadelphia
Living people
Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers
American people of Puerto Rican descent
American male boxers
Puerto Rican male boxers
World Boxing Association champions
World Boxing Council champions
The Ring (magazine) champions
World light-welterweight boxing champions
World welterweight boxing champions
Lightweight boxers
People with polydactyly