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By Jake Donovan - It goes without saying that 2014 was a year that Danny Garcia would rather forget. It’s not often that you can say that of a year in which you were able to fight—and win—twice, remain unbeaten and on top of the division you already served as king heading into the year.
For Garcia, though, it was a year in which the worst beatings he took were in the court of public opinion. Six months after posting a 12-round win over Lucas Matthysse to claim the vacant World 140 lb. championship, Garcia struggled mightily in a controversial points win over Mauricio Herrera last March in Puerto Rico.
The fight was followed up by what became a running joke in the industry, a 2nd round knockout of Rod Salka—who moved up more than two divisions in fighting weight from junior lightweight—in a mismatch at a catchweight, atop an August 9 show littered with mismatches.
As far as Garcia is concerned, there’s no time like the present.
The past was Garcia and Lamont Peterson sharing a bill on August 9, without the promise of moving forward with a head-on collision. The present has the pair throwing down this weekend, with their 143 lb. catchweight headlining live in primetime on free-to-air NBC from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
“I think this is…out of the list of champions that I faced before, I think this is even bigger for my legacy because here's the champion,” Garcia (29-0, 17KOs) insists of Peterson. “He's faced great opponents, he's faced great fighters too. I think stylistically this is going to be a great fight, and it's big for my legacy, so I've got to go in there and make sure I go in there and hand him my business.” [Click Here To Read More]
For Garcia, though, it was a year in which the worst beatings he took were in the court of public opinion. Six months after posting a 12-round win over Lucas Matthysse to claim the vacant World 140 lb. championship, Garcia struggled mightily in a controversial points win over Mauricio Herrera last March in Puerto Rico.
The fight was followed up by what became a running joke in the industry, a 2nd round knockout of Rod Salka—who moved up more than two divisions in fighting weight from junior lightweight—in a mismatch at a catchweight, atop an August 9 show littered with mismatches.
As far as Garcia is concerned, there’s no time like the present.
The past was Garcia and Lamont Peterson sharing a bill on August 9, without the promise of moving forward with a head-on collision. The present has the pair throwing down this weekend, with their 143 lb. catchweight headlining live in primetime on free-to-air NBC from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
“I think this is…out of the list of champions that I faced before, I think this is even bigger for my legacy because here's the champion,” Garcia (29-0, 17KOs) insists of Peterson. “He's faced great opponents, he's faced great fighters too. I think stylistically this is going to be a great fight, and it's big for my legacy, so I've got to go in there and make sure I go in there and hand him my business.” [Click Here To Read More]
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