Garcia and Salka faceoff. It's going down tomorrow night at 9p on Showtime. pic.twitter.com/XiKxLhpDQS

— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) August 8, 2014

By Dan Ambrose: IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Danny Garcia (28-0, 16 KOs) successfully weighed in today for his 142 pound catch-weight fight on Saturday night on Showtime Boxing against little known challenger Rod Salka (19-3, 3 KOs) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Garcia weighed in at 141.75lbs and looked in good shape. He didn’t appear weight drained like some fighters do. Salka came in a pound under at 141 pounds. While he was close to the same weight as Garcia, he looked considerably smaller. Garcia will likely look much bigger than Salka after he rehydrates overnight.

“This is going to be a vicious Danny Garcia,” Garcia said about himself. “It’s not going to be nice.”

In speaking about the negative press he’s been receiving about him fighting an unranked lightweight in Salka instead of a top tier light welterweight for this fight, Garcia said “As long as it’s press, I’m still relevant. I don’t have to pick my opponents. I just line them up.”

Garcia wouldn’t comment on who he wants to fight next after the Salka fight or if he plans on moving up in weight. He chose not to directly comment on those questions.

It goes without saying that Garcia’s next opponent will be selected by his adviser Al Haymon, who will likely put him in the best position to win. In other words, you won’t see Garcia facing anyone dangerous like Keith Thurman or Shawn Porter when/if he moves up to 147. It’ll be someone he had a great chance of beating.

IBF light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson weighed in at 140 pounds for his title defense against #13 IBF Angelo Santana. For his part, Santana weighed in at 139.5.
When asked if he’d like to fight Danny Garcia next, Peterson said “Of course, if it’s a fight that fans want.”

The fans want to see Garcia and Peterson fight, but there’s not a huge amount of interest in that fight. Fans would prefer to see Garcia fight a rematch against Lucas Matthysse or fan someone like Ruslan Provodnikov, or Adrien Broner at 140. But Garcia seems to be more interested in moving up to 147. If he does that, then boxing fans are going to want to see how he does against Thurman and Porter, two fighters that Haymon likely will keep Garcia far away from.

Here are the official weights on the card:

Danny Garcia 141.75 vs. Rod Salka 141
Daniel Jacobs 159.5 vs. Jarrod Fletcher 159.25
Lamont Peterson 140 vs. Edgar Santana 139.5