Danny Garcia: record, next fight and profile →
After openly struggling with making the 147-pound weight limit, Danny Garcia sought greener pastures. Ultimately, the Philadelphia native would do just that, as he opted to move on from the welterweight division and embark on a new journey as a full-fledged junior middleweight.
Danny Garcia begrudgingly looked down at the scales, sweat dripping profusely from his brow before ultimately making his decision. While he thoroughly enjoyed his time in the welterweight division, the Philadelphia native knew good and well that squeezing down his fairly big frame to the 147-pound weight limit was no longer a possibility.
Danny Garcia felt no need to tinker with a winning formula. When the Philadelphia native initially turned pro in 2007, his first five opponents failed to hold up to his pernicious power. As he continued to have success at 140-pounds, Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs) rose his arms in triumph as fighters such as
If Danny Garcia truly wanted to, he could have remained in the welterweight division and attempted to make a second title run. However, after years of squeezing down his fairly big frame to the 147-pound weight limit, the Philadelphia native believed he was in need of a reprieve.
Nothing Jose Benavidez Jr. noticed while studying Danny Garcia’s fight films indicated to him that Garcia would move nearly as much as he did during their 12-round fight last month at Barclays Center.
There was a look of satisfaction etched onto the face of Angel Garcia. Having watched his son, Danny Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs), struggle both in and outside of the ring as of late, he cheered proudly as Danny returned to the win column.
Hearn, the head of Matchroom Boxing, has been campaigning for the past year to have England’s Benn, the hard-hitting rising 147-pounder, face off against some of the top names at welterweight. Long at the top of Hearn’s list has been Keith Thurman, the native of Clearwater, Florida, and former 147-pound champion. Other names Hearn expressed interest in were Maurice Hooker and Adrien Broner.
Keith Thurman holds a lot of respect for Danny Garcia, even if his frequent trashtalking does not necessarily reflect that. The Clearwater, Florida, native recently offered a pithy retort to Garcia after Garcia expressed interest in a rematch of their encounter in 2017 that saw Thurman pick up a split decision win. Garcia made his feelings clear last Saturday night upon making a successful debut at the 154-pound mark against Jose Benavidez Jr. at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
A sizable audience tuned in Saturday night to watch Danny Garcia’s first fight in almost 20 months. Nielsen Media Research released viewership figures Tuesday that indicated Garcia’s 12-round, majority-decision victory over Jose Benavidez Jr. was watched by an average audience of 450,000 on Showtime. Garcia-Benavidez drew a peak audience of 478,000.
Do not count Keith Thurman among those who were overly impressed with Danny Garcia’s ring return. At least not to the point of reversing their shared in-ring history. Philadelphia’s Garcia ended a near 20-month layoff with a twelve-round decision win over Jose Benavidez Jr. in a terrific performance Saturday evening atop a Showtime tripleheader from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The same venue played host to Thurman’s split decision win over Garcia (37-3, 21KOs) in their March 2017 WBA/WBA unification bout between unbeaten welterweight titlists.