Putting out an APB on Danny Garcia
For the past year, welterweight fighter Danny “Swift” Garcia (36-3, 21 KO’s) has been acutely absent from the division. In his last bout, on December 5, 2020, Garcia was thoroughly out-boxed and out-worked by Errol Spence Jr. Since that time, outside of making regular posts to his social media, he’s turned into a ghost. This inactivity begs the question: is Swift thinking about hanging up the gloves?
Well, apparently he is not! In a recent session going live on his social media, Garcia fielded a number of fan inquiries and took the time to address the subject.
“I’m fighting next year! I want to get back in the ring at the top of next year, either February or March.”
BETTER TIMES YESTERYEAR
While it’s good to hear that Swift is not heading for the exit just yet, it’d be interesting to know who he is thinking about dueling next. It’s no secret that the two-division champion enjoyed better days down at super lightweight. He was able to beat Erik Morales on March 24, 2012 to capture the vacant WBC super lightweight title. He would then knockout Amir Khan in his next bout, on July 14, 2012, to pick up the WBA super lightweight title. Garcia would go on to defend the WBA super title four times and the WBC, five.
In fact, during his fourteen year career, Garcia has pieced together one of the more impressive resumes in the sport, having fought Kendall Holt, Erik Morales (twice), Amir Khan, Zab Judah, Lucas Matthysee, Paul Malignaggi, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter and Errol Spence Jr. With this being said, his professional road got very rocky when Swift moved up to welterweight. Here is where he has suffered all three of his professional losses. Going a step further, it can be argued that Garcia has not beaten a truly top tier fighter since breaching the 147 landscape.
If his dilemma can be boiled down to one word, it would be: power. When down at 140, his infamous no-look left hook sent heads flying into the rafters. Yet, when competing with the bruisers at welterweight, his power does not seem to have the same critical impact. This not to say he is now magically feather-fisted. Keith Thurman is on record saying that Garcia is one of the hardest punchers he’s ever faced. Being that as it may, the boxers at 147 are able to weather his assaults with much better success.
INTO THE BADLANDS!
This notion of power becomes a bit more troubling when Garcia reveals that he’d love to go up to 154-pounds.
“I want to go up to 154, whatever is the best situation. But I want to become a three-division world champion, that’s my dream. I got two right now, 140 and 147 …Honestly I would like to fight anyone at 154. I feel like I am better than anyone at 154.”
There is no doubt that this is an ambitious goal, if not a bit foreboding. Given the hard times that he’s had at welterweight, it is difficult to envision Swift jumping up in weight again and suddenly having greater success. Perhaps though, he is draining himself to make the limit and he would enjoy an increase in strength. Who knows?
With that being said, granted his mission is to be a three-division world champion, then Garcia has got to be eyeing a bout with WBA super, IBF and WBC super middleweight champion Jermell Charlo. Standing where we are right now, that seems like a tall order. Yet in still, we all have to chase our dreams! So, let’s stay tuned to see who Danny Garcia fights next, and in what division.
By: Bakari Simpson
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