Ellerbe: Garcia Stepped Up, Wants To Beat Matthysse

By Edward Chaykovsky

Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe can't wait to see WBC/WBA 140-pound champion Danny Garcia (26-0, 16KOs) defend his titles against mandatory challenger Lucas Matthysse (34-2, 32KOs). The fight was officially announced on Thursday and takes place on the Floyd Mayweather vs. Saul Alvarez undercard on September 14th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Both fights will be televised by Showtime PPV.

Most fans believed Garcia was trying to shy away from Matthysse. Ellerbe says the two-belt champion requested Matthysse and a lot of fans are underestimating Garcia's power in the match.

"This is a tremendous fight. You have Lucas Matthysse, he's running everybody out the ring and nobody wants to fight him - but Danny Garcia stepped up and said 'I want to be the one to beat this guy.' Lucas Matthysse has tremendous punching power, but let's not forget that Danny Garcia can punch with either hand," Ellerbe said.