By Gav Duthie: The number 1 P4P fighter in his own mind Danny ‘Delusional’ Garcia 33-1 (19) has been in full ego form in the last week throwing a barrage of compliments his own way stronger than his left hooks. Not only does he still feel undefeated (as the Keith Thurman loss is only a defeat on paper) but he doesn’t yet consider #1 P4P star Terrence Crawford worthy of fighting him until he faces Errol Spence first.
(Photo credit: CHRIS FARINA – Mayweather Promotions)
I’m not sure where this pedestal he has made for himself comes from but he is delusional as most fans and media have lost respect for him. So Terrence Crawford hasn’t built himself up enough to face Danny but Brandon Rios, Samuel Vargas, Paulie Malignaggi, Mauricio Herrera and Rod Salka did? Garcia comes back on February 17 to face Brandon Rios and says that he needed the time off after the Thurman fight to recharge but some fans would argue he has taken 5 years off since he beat Lucas Matthysse.
Delusion #1 – He has only lost on paper
On the Thurman defeat Garcia said “It’s just a loss on paper. I feel like I feel like I won the fight, it is what is is”. Granted the Thurman-Garcia fight was close. I had Thurman winning narrowly but am happy to accept an argument for Garcia. Keith seemed to slow down massively in the last few rounds because he had built up a lead. It could have cost him the fight but he got the decision. The delusion here is that Garcia has been the beneficiary of the same treatment more than once. His homecoming fight against expected cannon fodder opponent Mauricio Herrera but he was awful. Herrera’s movement and solid jab caused Garcia all sorts of problems and just like the Thurman fight there was a solid argument that Herrera won. Did Garcia say anything about that controversy, of course not. It was the same with Lamont Peterson. Peterson came on strong in the late rounds like Garcia did against Thurman and could easy have won. Garcia got the decision again and no comment about controversy. A fighter who can’t understand why they lost a decision even if they don’t agree can never make adjustments. If you take a great like Floyd Mayweather he had two tough fights against Jose Luis Castillo and Marcos Maidana but he made improvements in the rematches. If Garcia can’t even accept a loss he will never be a great.
Delusion #2 – Terrence Crawford doesn’t deserve to fight Garcia yet
In my opinion Garcia should be begging to fight Crawford. When asked about the contest Garcia stated “He still has got to make his way in the division”. He went on to say that the winner of Crawford-Spence could face him. He needs to realise that these guys are well above him in the current market place. Garcia was a unified champion at 140lbs with the WBC and WBA titles. Crawford won all four belts to become undisputed. Garcia saying Crawford needs to establish himself at 147lbs is hilarious. Garcia took nearly 2 years to move up to 147 as he insisted on ridiculous fights at 142 and 143lbs against Rod Salka and Lamont Peterson respectively. Winning a title at 147 against an over the hill Robert Guerrero hardly makes Garcia a legitimate welterweight. Neither did his decision to not defend his title and fight Samuel Vargas instead. At least Crawford his moving straight up to 147lbs to fight the much larger Jeff Horn without a couple of fights at a made up weight. Garcia should be begging to fight Crawford.
Delusion #3 – He needed time off
Garcia felt he needed a break both mentally and physically from boxing. Is anyone else excited to see him fight Brandon Rios because I’m not. I don’t want to discredit Rios, he was a great fighter at lightweight and is superb on the inside. When he was bigger and stronger than his opponents they couldn’t keep him off. He is like Roberto Duran and Julio Cesar Chavez when they moved up but obviously he was not on their level to begin with. Garcia propelled himself into one of the worlds best fighters around after his wins over Amir Khan and Lucas Matthysse with Erik Morales and Zab Judah in between. The problem is since then he has basically stopped challenging himself. He has been taking time off since 2013. Apart from fighting Thurman he hasn’t taken enough risks.
Where can he go?
He should beat Rios but after that he needs to rebuild his image and go back to fighting the best at 147lbs. He has the talent to beat anyone but he needs to learn from his mistakes and also start taking risks.