Tweet
By Thomas Gerbasi - Danny Garcia was saying all the right things, but when the WBA / WBC junior welterweight champion was asked if there was a part of him, deep in his Philadelphia soul, that wouldn’t mind getting into a bit of a firefight with Argentinean knockout artist Lucas Matthysse this Saturday in Las Vegas, he couldn’t help but laugh.
It was as if he got caught, that we could see right through him, and that when it comes down to it, he’s just a fighter at heart, even if that may hurt him against an opponent with legitimate fight-ending power.
“I’m preparing in the gym for whatever,” he said after the laughs died down. “Everybody’s always got a game plan, and me, I’m gonna feel him out, see what it feels like, and whatever happens happens.”
That’s not bravado, not recklessness; it’s who the 25-year-old is, and it has everything to do with his zip code.
“It’s just the Philly toughness,” he said. “It’s how they breed the people. It’s a tough town, we’ve got tough fans, so if you’re a Philly fan they expect you to be tough and be gritty, and that’s what I bring to the table.”
He’s proved it thus far, even if it took him a while to get here, just a day away from the biggest fight of his career on the biggest card of 2013. Seemingly for years, Garcia was seen as a top east coast prospect, but despite doing everything required of such a prospect, it appeared that he was taking longer than most to get his big shot. After a close split decision win over Kendall Holt in October of 2011 though, he got the fight he wanted, a March 2012 WBC title fight against Erik Morales. He won that one, and it’s been a whirlwind ever since. [Click Here To Read More]
It was as if he got caught, that we could see right through him, and that when it comes down to it, he’s just a fighter at heart, even if that may hurt him against an opponent with legitimate fight-ending power.
“I’m preparing in the gym for whatever,” he said after the laughs died down. “Everybody’s always got a game plan, and me, I’m gonna feel him out, see what it feels like, and whatever happens happens.”
That’s not bravado, not recklessness; it’s who the 25-year-old is, and it has everything to do with his zip code.
“It’s just the Philly toughness,” he said. “It’s how they breed the people. It’s a tough town, we’ve got tough fans, so if you’re a Philly fan they expect you to be tough and be gritty, and that’s what I bring to the table.”
He’s proved it thus far, even if it took him a while to get here, just a day away from the biggest fight of his career on the biggest card of 2013. Seemingly for years, Garcia was seen as a top east coast prospect, but despite doing everything required of such a prospect, it appeared that he was taking longer than most to get his big shot. After a close split decision win over Kendall Holt in October of 2011 though, he got the fight he wanted, a March 2012 WBC title fight against Erik Morales. He won that one, and it’s been a whirlwind ever since. [Click Here To Read More]
Comment