NEW YORK – As Danny Garcia walked around the Gleason’s Gym ring for what is likely his final media workout in New York City as a pro fighter, there was a sense of relaxation in his demeanor. It was almost a sense of relief as he nears the finish line of a pro career that began 16 years earlier and saw him tussle with some of the biggest names of his time, including Amir Khan, Keith Thurman, Errol Spence Jnr and Zab Judah.
The 37-year-old Garcia paced the canvas, half-heartedly shadowboxing while exchanging banter with Chris Colbert, a brother in arms who will appear on the undercard of Garcia’s main-event fight Saturday. After removing his windbreaker and T-shirt to unveil the physique he will bring into his matchup against Danny “El Gallo” Gonzalez at Barclays Center, Garcia joked about going to Colombia to “get the De La Hoya abs,” a teasing shot at his former promoter who famously had his midsection lipo-sculpted. After kissing both of his biceps, Garcia declined to do a throat slash gesture for the scores of cameras trained on him.
“I ain’t a killer, I’m a lover,” Garcia joked, before making an exception: “I’ma be a killer on Saturday night.”
There is good reason why the two-time world champion no longer considers himself a full-time assassin. Garcia, who will be fighting for just the fourth time in five years, has been transitioning into post-boxing life for several years, and will have a foot in both worlds when he promotes Saturday’s show under his Swift Promotions card. Earlier in the week, Garcia told podcaster Ariel Helwani that he was “85 per cent sure” that Saturday’s fight would be his last.
“I feel like I proved everything I wanted to do, and I don't want to be one of them fighters to just stick around boxing for a long time,” said Garcia, 37-4 (21 KOs), who will be promoting his sixth event.
“I want to have a life after boxing. I want to be able to talk to my kids without slurring and stuff. People see the glitz and glamor, but this is a brutal sport. Even in the gym, you’re taking punishment. You're going to war in the gym. Every time you go and spar in the gym, you're taking punishment. For me, it's more not that I can't fight, it’s more that my health, that's the most important thing for me. I'm 37 years old. I'm not 20 years old no more.”
That brings Garcia back to Barclays Center, where he has fought nine previous times, beginning in 2012, when he sensationally knocked out Erik Morales in four rounds in their rematch for two 140lbs titles. Garcia, who had beaten Morales earlier in the year to win his first belt, hit the future Hall of Famer with a hook that spun Morales improbably in each direction before he landed on his back. There was also his brawl with Judah, his destruction of no-hoper Rod Salka, plus his memorable title fight losses against Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter in that same building.
Against Gonzalez, 22-4-1 (7 KOs), Garcia will be reunited with one of the boxers who helped him prepare for that 2018 fight against Porter. Garcia says he doesn’t remember much about those rounds with Gonzalez, other than one left hook he landed in a session that had him staring at his own trainer in disbelief.
Garcia said the deal came about after his company signed another boxer managed and trained by Gonzalez manager/trainer Moises Roman, one by the name of Mathew “Lefty Gunz” Gonzalez.
“He's a New Yorker,” Garcia said of Gonzalez. “I feel like he's somebody who's been under the radar, and he deserves a shot. He's a tough fighter. He's been around for a while, and some fighters never get the opportunity.
“There ain't no better way to get back. You do good against me, you get bigger fights. So that's pretty much how that went.”
Gonzalez, 35, of Queens’ Woodhaven section, looks like he hasn’t missed any workouts heading into his highest-profile fight to date. Gonzalez put on a more revealing public workout about 20 minutes before Garcia arrived, removing his shirt to show off a chiseled physique before doing a round of mitts with Nirmal Lorick.
“When he loses, he can go spend time with his family,” said Gonzalez, who hopes a win in this fight can earn him a shot at WBC junior middleweight titleholder Sebastian Fundora.
Garcia ensures that, even after suffering the first stoppage loss of his career 13 months ago – a ninth-round defeat to WBA middleweight titleholder Erislandy Lara – he still has enough left in the tank to take care of business against a dangerous, if largely unknown, fighter in Gonzalez.
“I’ve been hearing that my whole life, [that I’m finished]. I was supposed to be finished in 2012 when I fought Amir Khan, and then I was supposed to be finished again when I fought [Lucas] Matthysse. I was supposed to be finished a million times,” Garcia said, then pointed to his heart. “But no one knows how this right here, how I feel, and that's the most important thing. That's what we're going to show on Saturday night.”
As far as how he wants to be remembered, Garcia says he wants his legacy to be that of a fearless warrior who was also a pretty good guy.
“I just want to be remembered as somebody who fought everybody, fought the best and never backed down and, more importantly, just be an inspiration,” Garcia said.
“I want my friends to say I was a good friend. I want my family members to say I was a good family member. I want my fans to say, ‘Danny never backed down. He fought everybody.’ So I just want to be remembered for just being a good person.”
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
