by David P. Greisman

Danny Garcia says the additional drug testing being done for his upcoming fight against Lucas Matthysse isn’t based on specific concerns about his opponent.

“It doesn’t matter who I fight, it’s just something I feel needs to be done if you want to be the champion,” Garcia said on an Aug. 14 media conference call. “I just want a clean fight, and that’s it. It has nothing to do with Lucas Matthysse. It’s just what I do.”

Garcia noted that testing (which has been done by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) has been done for his past few fights beyond that which is conducted by the state athletic commissions. USADA testing for Garcia’s rematch with Erik Morales in October 2012 resulted in Morales testing positive before the bout for the banned substance clenbuterol. The New York State Athletic Commission and Golden Boy Promotions still went forward with that fight, which resulted in Garcia knocking Morales out in four rounds.

Garcia, 25, is coming off an April decision win over Zab Judah that brought his record to 26-0 with 16 knockouts. Matthysse fought a few weeks later, knocking out Lamont Peterson in May to bring his record to 34-2 with 32 knockouts and 1 no contest.

Those victories set the table for this fight between the two best 140-pound fighters in the world. Their match will be the co-feature on the Sept. 14 pay-per-view headlined by Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez.

David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com