by David P. Greisman
Danny Garcia is coming off the biggest win of his career on the biggest possible stage. Just a month and a half ago, he beat fellow top junior welterweight Lucas Matthysse by a close but clear decision, doing so as the co-feature to Floyd Mayweather’s win over Canelo Alvarez.
The thought immediately afterward was that Garcia would be positioning himself to move up to welterweight and challenge Mayweather. But while other fighters are very vocal in their desire to face the most famous opponents in the most lucrative bouts, that’s not the case with Garcia.
Garcia spoke with BoxingScene.com on Oct. 25, at the weigh-in for Bernard Hopkins vs. Karo Murat.
BoxingScene.com: What’s next for you? Or when will you know?
Garcia: “I don’t know yet. I’m just hanging around.”
BoxingScene.com: Right now, what’s the one fight you want more than anything else? Is it Floyd Mayweather?
Garcia: “Whatever my promotion wants, whatever’s best for me, then I want it.”
BoxingScene.com: But what do you want?
Garcia: “I’m happy where I’m at. I’ll never call out names. I’m going to do the same thing I’ve always been going.”
BoxingScene.com: Do you want to stay at 140, or go up to 147?
Garcia: “I would like to go up to 147, but I’ve done so much defending titles and winning titles at 140, it’s like hard for me to give up. I don’t know. We’ve got to sit down and make our next move soon.”
BoxingScene.com: Why do you want to go to 147?
Garcia: “I feel like I don’t want to hang around a weight class. I already did what I had to do in the weight class.”
BoxingScene.com: What do you walk around at?
Garcia: “I don’t know (laughs). I don’t know.”
BoxingScene.com: How much does that play into your decision?
Garcia: “I make weight good, though. I never struggle.”
BoxingScene.com: People wanted you to face Lucas Matthysse. You faced him and defeated him. Do you feel like you got something off your shoulders with the way you won that fight?
Garcia: “No. It was another fight to me. I went into the fight and had to defend what was mine. That was it.”
BoxingScene.com: Have you gone back and watched the Matthysse fight since then?
Garcia: “I watched it a couple times. I fought the fight I wanted to fight. He has to be set to punch. I knew that if I made him think, and I hit him and got him frustrated and held him on the inside. … It was a perfect fight for me.”
BoxingScene.com: What do you think about the possibility of an eventual rematch?
Garcia: “I feel like I don’t need a rematch, because I was the champion. He wasn’t the champion. He never won a world title. If he would’ve beaten me, then there would’ve been a rematch, because I was the champion. I don’t have no interest in a rematch.”
BoxingScene.com: How much do you want a fight with Floyd Mayweather?
Garcia: “I don’t really care about it. I’m trying to build my own legacy. If it happens, it happens. If it don’t, I’m just going to continue what I do and just keep winning.”
BoxingScene.com: Why don’t you care about it? It’s the biggest money fight possible.
Garcia: “Yeah, it’s money, but at the end of the day, money doesn’t define who I am. I want to build my own legacy. I feel like I can build my own legacy beating the best fighters now.”
BoxingScene.com: When are we going to see you back?
Garcia: “First quarter of the year.”
BoxingScene.com: And when are you going to go back in the gym?
Garcia: “I’m already in the gym. I’m messing around and training the young kids, helping them. I’m in the gym already, I’m just not going hard.”
BoxingScene.com: Anything else you want people to know?
Garcia: “Just stay tuned.”
Pick up a copy of David’s new book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon . Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
