By Dan Ambrose: Former WBA/WBC 140lb champion Danny Garcia (31-0, 18 KOs) says he’s feeling a lot stronger since moving up in weight to the full weight for the welterweight division.
Garcia, 27, says he feels that nothing or no one can stop him right now with the way he’s feeling since moving up in weight. Garcia has punching power, he thinks, and with the added power, he’s picked up more confidence in his ability.
Tomorrow night, Garcia will be in a tough scrap against former two division world champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (33-3-1, 18 KOs) for the vacant WBC welterweight title at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Garcia probably should have moved up to the welterweight division after his questionable 12 round decision win over Mauricio Herrera in March 2014. Garcia struggled in that fight and was fortunate to be given a decision by the judges. The judges made themselves look bad in the eyes of a lot of boxing fans, as they thought the scoring made no sense.
TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's the official breakdown of @DannySwift vs @GHOSTBOXING. Watch #PBConFOX tom at 8 pm ET/5 PT. pic.twitter.com/H8BWKSmsez
— PBC (@premierboxing) January 22, 2016
The only fights that Garcia has looked good in the last two years were designed mismatches against little Rod Salka from the lightweight division, and an over-the-hill 35-year-old Paulie Malignaggi. Those were showcase fights for Garcia with him put in mismatches rather than matched against quality fighters that are relevant and talented.
“I think it’s just my time right now, to be honest with you. Nothing can stop me right now,” Garcia said to badlefthook.com. “I feel a lot fresher, it’s amazing when you eat right how you actually feel it hit your body and you’re able to think more…I was starving myself [before], I wasn’t able to eat the right nutrition for me to move around and be mobile.”
I think it’s Garcia’s time to beat a faded fighter like Guerrero, but I don’t think it’s Garcia’s time to beat any of the good welterweights like Errol Spence, Tim Bradley, Shawn Porter, Kell Brook or Keith Thurman. As long as Garcia doesn’t face one of those guys, he should be fine.
I don’t know if Garcia is going to be any better at 147 because he’s supposedly feeling stronger. There are too many good fighters in this division that have the kid of power and boxing skills that would give Garcia a lot of problems if his adviser Al Haymon puts him in with those guys. I think Haymon realizes Garcia’s limitations as a fighter, so he probably won’t be putting him in with anyone truly dangerous that could maybe beat him. The problem with Haymon matching Garcia carefully is that he’ll never become a really popular fighter until he starts taking on the best fighters and not faded guys with a 2 and 2 record in their last four fights.
“I got to worry about Jan 23rd, which is Saturday. Get the job done one fight at a time because that’s the way I handle my career…So I’m just focused on Robert Guerrero,” Garcia said when asked about him fighting Keith Thurman in the future.
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