Danny Garcia: ‘I saw weakness in Errol Spence, I’ll beat him 100%’

By Boxing News - 05/21/2020 - Comments

By Chris Williams: Danny Garcia reveals that he spotted flaws in Errol Spence’s game from his fights against Shawn Porter and Mikey Garcia, and he’s confident that he’ll beat him 100%.  Garcia isn’t worried about what Spence brings to the table at all after seeing holes in his game that he can take advantage of.

Spence is coming off of a car crash from last October, but he anticipates being back in the ring by as early as September. No one knows if Spence will be the same fighter as he was before the accident. Danny says if Spence is given the green light to fight, then that must mean that he’s healthy.

Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs) mentions that he won’t be fighting in September as he mentioned. Instead, he says he’ll be fighting in the fall against IBF/WBC welterweight champion Spence Jr. (26-0, 21 KOs) or WBA champion Manny Pacquiao.

Danny looked big the other day, and he’s going to need to drop a lot of weight for him to get down to the 147-pound weight limit.

Image: Danny Garcia: 'I saw weakness in Errol Spence, I'll beat him 100%'

Garcia still motivated to fight

“It’s the competition and the new goals that you set in your career,” said Danny Garcia to the AK & Barak Show on DAZN when asked how he stays hungry. “I was a champion for a long time, and I felt like I was getting tired of that after a long time.

“That’s when bad things happen. You’ve been training for so long, but mentally you’re not all the way in it. I felt like I reached a point in my life and my career where I’m a fighter, and this is what I do.

“I’m going to miss it when it’s gone, so I’m just going to go in there and dedicate myself and finish strong because this is what I love. I’m a fighter. This is what I want to do, and I’m a champion, and I want to give it my all and be world champion again.

“Right now, it’s my love for the sport and my legacy, and I just want to accomplish more things.

“It can be done,” said Garcia about a fight with Errol Spence Jr. in September. “I was told it was him or Manny Pacquiao. And I know I said September, but it should be in the fall. I don’t want to give false information about September, but it may be in the fall. It’s either him [Spence] or Pacquiao. That’s what I was told,” said Garcia.

Danny admits that he had lost some of the motivation that he had during his time as a world champion. But it’s now been three years since he lost his WBC welterweight title to Keith Thurman in 2017.

Pacquiao still an option for Danny’s next fight

“It doesn’t matter to me,” said Garcia when asked who he prefers to fight between Spence and Pacquiao. “Both of them are champions. Spence would be better because I would win two titles and become a five-time world champion. But beating Manny Pacquiao would be an excellent thing for my legacy.

“It doesn’t matter to me at this point. Yeah, for sure,” said Danny when asked if he got the call to fight one of those two. “I was supposed to fight Spence in January on the 25th. I was supposed to fight him.

“The fight was done, and I’m glad I did fight in January because if I didn’t fight in January, I would have been out of the ring for a long time.

“No one knew about it [the pandemic]. So I’m glad I pushed for a fight, and I’m glad I got a fight because I would have been inactive for a long time. I just feel like everything happens for a reason.

“I had a southpaw, and whoever is next, Manny or Spence. It may be looking more like Spence, but if Manny says, ‘Yes,’ then it’s Manny.

“No, not at all because if you’re not 100 percent, then don’t get in the ring,” said Garcia when asked if he’s worried that he won’t get credit for beating Spence due to him coming off of a car crash. “If you’re not ready, then don’t get in the ring.

Spence says he’s been cleared to fight. If there’s anything that is wrong with him, he’ll obviously notice training camp when he starts sparring.

Pacquiao would be the fight that Danny would take if it were up to him, but he’s not the decision-maker for that fight. Manny will be the one that decides if he wants Danny or Mikey.

Image: Danny Garcia: 'I saw weakness in Errol Spence, I'll beat him 100%'

Danny Garcia wants Thurman and Porter at 154

“I want to go up to 154,” said Danny in responding to the question of what he wants to do after the Spence fight. “It’s harder [to make 147] because I grew into it. I grew into the weight. I’m a natural 147-pounder now. In the beginning, I was walking around at 156 and 157 pounds when I first moved up.

“Now, I walk around at 165 or 168. So I feel like when I get down to welterweight, I’m a big welterweight. I feel like I can compete against anybody,” said Danny when asked how he thinks he’d do against Jarrett Hurd and Jermell Charlo. “My skills and power carry up to even 160.

“Even at 154, I could get the rematch with [Keith] Thurman or [Shawn] Porter. I know those guys struggle to go down to 147. So even those types of fights are still available and make a lot more sense,” Garcia said.

“It’s that simple. I know Manny is getting older now, but he’s coming off of a big win. If he’s old, don’t get in the ring. If Spence isn’t better, then don’t get in the ring because I don’t want to hear any excuses. I never made any excuses,” said Danny Garcia.

Moving up to 154 might be a step too far for Danny because he’s not a big guy compared to the fighters in that division. If Danny moves up and fights Thurman and Porter, it won’t be as bad for him than if he fought the true 154-pounders. Danny might be oversized against Jeison Rosario, Jermell Charlo, Jarrett Hurd, and Julian Williams.

Spence showed flaws against Porter and Mikey

“The underdog thing, I’ve heard my whole career, so I’m used to being an underdog,” said Garcia. “I don’t even feel right when they say that Danny is supposed to win, and the odds are on my side. It doesn’t feel right. Other than the Barkley Center, you can hear a pin drop when I beat them up. It’s on paper.

“He’s [Spence] got a good height behind him, but it comes down to fighting. The odds and underdog this. All that means is people don’t know what I can do, and all I’ve got to do is prove it. That’s it. Prove it to myself. I don’t even have to prove it to anybody else because I know what I can do.

“I saw things in the Mikey Garcia fight, even though he won that fight by a big score, but I saw things,” said Danny in talking about Spence’s fight with Mikey in 2019. “I’m bigger than Mikey and stronger than Mikey. I think Mikey did some good things in that fight, but the bigger and better man beat him.

“In the Porter fight, he was getting hit a lot. When I fought Porter, it wasn’t even a hard fight for me like that. It was just that he threw more and he won. That’s it basically. I saw him [Spence] get hit a lot in that fight [with Porter], and I see a lot of mistakes that I could take him,” continued Garcia.

Spence got hit a lot against Shawn Porter, but that was because of his decision to fight him on the inside. Had Spence boxed Porter like he did with Mikey, he would have likely won easily.

Image: Danny Garcia: 'I saw weakness in Errol Spence, I'll beat him 100%'

Danny rates Erik Morales as toughest fight

“I think my toughest fight to date and always will be is Erik Morales 1,” said Danny Garcia. “He broke my nose and cut me. I dug deep, and I’ve never [fought anyone like that]. He had so many tricks up his sleeves. He was old, but his technique and his mind were so good.

“So I learned a lot in that fight. That fight turned me into a champion. I went to school that night and graduated that night. The legend has been in there with a lot of fighters. Today, I’ve never fought anyone with that type of skill. I think he’s one of the best most skillful fighters I’ve fought as far as technique,” Garcia said.

Garcia had massive problems in his first fight against Erik Morales in 2012. ‘El Terrible’ Morales was 36 at the time and fighting well above his best weight of 122 in facing Danny at 140.

Danny still won a 12 round unanimous decision, but he suffered a broken nose and a cut. That fight was Morales’ last great performance of his career. It didn’t matter that Morales lost. He fought well despite being a lot smaller, weaker, and older than Danny.

In their rematch in October 2012, Garcia stopped Morales in the fourth round. Morales was done at that point, and it was sad to see. If Danny hangs around until he’s 36, as Morales did, and fights four divisions above his weight class, then he’ll have an idea what Erik went through in facing him.

To do that, Danny would need to move up to light heavyweight. Danny would likely be completely out of his league against 175-pound fighters like Artur Beterbiev.

Garcia financially set for life

“Me, if I stop fighting, I’m good,” said Danny when asked if he’ll need to get another job to keep the money rolling in if the pandemic keeps boxing shut down for an extended amount of time. I’ve saved my money and paid my taxes. I got money coming in, and I’ve got a retirement plan and everything.

“I’ve got a will and all that type of stuff. On paper, my life is good. This is the only time where I can make a few million in one day unless you flip a property and get a crazy return a couple of times a year. Boxing is one of the few sports where you can make millions of dollars in one day,” said Garcia.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Danny Garcia has a net worth of $8 million. I guess you can say that he won’t be too bothered if the pandemic keeps him on the shelf for a while.

Image: Danny Garcia: 'I saw weakness in Errol Spence, I'll beat him 100%'

Danny feels he’s got a lot left in the tank

“I don’t want to say, but I feel like I got a lot left in the tank,” said Garcia when asked how many fights does he have left before he retires. “I feel good. My last couple of fights, I was hungry, and I gave it my all. It showed in my fights. I dominated [Adrian] Granados, and I dominated [Ivan] Redkach.

“I was supposed to do that, and I felt like I leveled out, and I’m back where I want to be. And I feel good now. I don’t know what happened, but my mindset. And I just love what I do,” said Garcia.

It’s hard to say whether Danny Garcia has a lot left in his career. As far as Danny having a shot at winning another world title at 147, his chances are slim unless he faces Pacquiao or WBA ‘regular’ welterweight champion Alexander Besputin. Those are guys that Danny could possibly beat. But he would likely be over-matched against Spence and WBO champion Terence Crawford.

Even Virgil Ortiz Jr. might have too much for Danny at this point. Danny isn’t the same fighter at 147 as he was at 140, which is why it’s not a good idea for him to move up to 154. Those guys are too big, too strong, and too young for Danny.

Fighting behind closed doors not a problem

“I can compare it to being in the gym,” said Danny when asked about his thoughts on fighting behind closed doors. “When you spar in the gym, there’s no one there but your trainer and his trainer.

“That’s how you got to look at it. Once you fight, you can’t really hear the fans anymore. You’re zoned out. It will be different. You know how, when you walk in the ring, your fans are screaming, and you’ve got your muscle and all your energy.

“That’ll probably be different, but I think it’ll affect the fans more than us because they won’t have the experience of watching a live fight. So I think it’ll affect the fans more than us. If they’re true fans, they’re going to sit home and watch it, and I think everyone is going to be happy because sport is back on,” said Garcia.

It probably won’t be a big deal for Danny to fight behind closed doors, but it’s doubtful that he’ll fight Pacquiao or Spence without fans. That’s not likely to happen.

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