Danny Garcia Stops Jorge Romero In Nine Rounds

By Jake Donovan

Unbeaten prospect Danny Garcia remains perfect as a pro, traveling to hostile territory only to turn in perhaps his best performance to date with a ninth-round win over Jorge Romero on Friday evening at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico.

Garcia weighed in at 143 ¾, his heaviest weight in more than two years, while Romero was slightly lighter at 143 lb for their Telefutura-televised main event.

The crowd was far livelier than was the action in the ring in the early going. Dueling chants of “USA” and “Mexico” alternating throughout the arena in anticipation of something – anything to happen in the opening round. Both fighters pressed, but didn’t land anything of significance.

Both fighters picked up the pace in the second, though not particularly accurate with their output. Garcia, who was widely criticized for abandoning his jab in his ESPN2-televised win over Ashley Theophane earlier this year, threw more in combination in the round, occasionally landing with his overhand right and left uppercut to the body.

It was back to basics for both fighters in the third and fourth rounds – or at least the portions of the rounds that Telefutura elected to show before abruptly cutting to a commercial midway through both rounds. Action never appeared to leave center ring, though never picking up beyond an exchange of jabs and missed power punches.

If Romero believed after four rounds that he was making any sort of impact, the PA announcer informed him otherwise. Open scoring – which comes with the organization that sanctioned this bout as a title fight of sorts – revealed that Garcia was up by commanding scores of 40-36 (twice) and 39-37.

Perhaps Romero heard the announcement, because he took control in the fifth, fighting at his most aggressive to that point in the fight. The bad news for the Mexican was that it had no effect on Garcia, who patiently waited for openings and was able to score with counter rights.

As the second half began, Garcia was far more patient while desperation appeared to set in for Romero, who wasn’t quite as poised in his attack. Garcia pawed with the jab, serving as a range finder for his left hook, on which he doubled up to the head and body nearly every time he threw the punch. It was also the final punch thrown in the round, scoring with a counter left hook after Romero overcommitted on a right hand.

Garcia kept it strictly boxing in the seventh, a tactic that didn’t sit particularly well with the blood-thirsty fans in attendance. Romero was out of answers as Garcia picked him apart with combinations, doubling up with the jab and landing right hands to the ribs and head.

Romero continued to plod forward in the eighth round, enjoying body shot success for the first time in the fight. Any good fortunes that came of it quickly evaporated in the ninth, when Garcia decided to not just put the fight out of reach, but to an and once and for all.

The heart was there, but Romero lacked the talent to come up with a backup plan once Garcia made adjustments. The American turned up the heat in the ninth, flooring Romero about a minute into the ring with a picture-perfect left hook that all but effectively served as the end of the fight.

That Romero made it to his feet and beat the count meant nothing; he was done, but just didn’t know it yet. Garcia showed him just how far out of it he really was, immediately jumping on his wounded prey before finishing him off just seconds later.

The win marks the third of the year for Garcia, who improves overall to 18-0 (12KO). Romero loses for the second time in his past three fights, falling to 17-3 (15KO) in the process.

It was the first time that Garcia – a former amateur standout based out of Philadelphia – fought beyond American borders as a pro. The 22-year old junior welterweight passed his test with flying colors, boxing as he needed and picking up the pace when it mattered most.

With perhaps too much time to kill, a swing bout between a pair of bantamweight journeymen made its way to the telecast. Thankfully, the bout excruciating bout was shortened to six rounds from its originally scheduled eight.

In the end, Naciff Castillo (now 7-3, 1KO) of  Cozumel took a six round decision over fleshy Tlaxcala native Miguel Garcia (10-12, 5KO). Scores were 59-56, 59-55 and 58-57.