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When the camera caught Garcia, he had a look on his face that was similar to that of many in the crowd that night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.: Awe, because of how ruthless and devastating "The Machine" looked in taking Peterson out.
The look on Garcia's face, to some, meant he was scared to fight Matthysse. And when Garcia-Matthysse was not signed right away some took that that mean that Garcia was somehow looking to duck Matthysse, who, as interim titleholder was also one of his mandatory challengers.
Those critics took to social media to taunt Garcia and call him a coward. What those folks did not understand, however, is that major fights take time to make.
The look on Garcia's face, to some, meant he was scared to fight Matthysse. And when Garcia-Matthysse was not signed right away some took that that mean that Garcia was somehow looking to duck Matthysse, who, as interim titleholder was also one of his mandatory challengers.
Those critics took to social media to taunt Garcia and call him a coward. What those folks did not understand, however, is that major fights take time to make.
"These people who wrote Danny was scared of Matthysse have egg on their face," Schaefer said when he announced the fight. "He wanted the fight more than any other fight."
"That night I was there as a fan," Garcia said this week after a workout in his hometown of Philadelphia. "I wasn't there scouting no fighter. I wasn't even going to go the fight, but Showtime and Golden Boy said they wanted me to come and I came at the last minute. Yeah, it was a good knockout. I don't understand what people want me to do. Smile? Clap my hands? Start jumping up and down? I don't know what people wanted me to do when I saw the knockout. I laughed at all that stuff I heard.
"I heard a few things and when people were saying all that stuff, I hadn't even been officially offered the fight yet. What people were saying was that he was my mandatory and I should sign the contract right then, but the fight wasn't even offered to me yet."
"I heard a few things and when people were saying all that stuff, I hadn't even been officially offered the fight yet. What people were saying was that he was my mandatory and I should sign the contract right then, but the fight wasn't even offered to me yet."
When Garcia (26-0, 16 KOs), 25, signed for the fight some even claimed he must have been pressured to accept it. Nonsense, Garcia said.
"When the fight was brought up to me, I said, 'Yeah, if it's the biggest fight and the biggest money, let's do it, that's what we will do,' and I took the fight," Garcia said. "You know me. I never ducked anyone. For me to duck someone wouldn't be in my character. I was very excited for this fight because it's a big fight, a fight people want to see."
"When the fight was brought up to me, I said, 'Yeah, if it's the biggest fight and the biggest money, let's do it, that's what we will do,' and I took the fight," Garcia said. "You know me. I never ducked anyone. For me to duck someone wouldn't be in my character. I was very excited for this fight because it's a big fight, a fight people want to see."
"(Matthysse) is buzzing a little bit off his last couple of victories and people are hyping him up," Garcia said. "I think he's a good fighter and has good power but most of his knockouts were in Argentina where he didn't fight anyone and built up his record. When he came here (to the United States) and fought people who could hit him back, he lost."
"What happens when I back him up? Can he fight on his heels? The momentum of the fight will change. I will back him up to. That's what you'll see. I'm gonna come to the fight and if ends in a knockout it's him getting knocked out because I can't ever see myself getting knocked out. I guarantee you that if he comes out swinging at me like he did against Peterson, he will go down. I think Peterson was scared because he was backing up. I am not scared."
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