By Dan Ambrose: Jermell Charlo is welcoming Danny Garcia to the 154-lb division if he moves up. IBF/WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Charlo (34-1,18 KOs) will give “slow” Danny ‘Swift’ Garica (36-3, 21 KOs) a crack at his titles once he gets done with his undisputed championship against WBO belt-holder Brian Castano on July 17th.
If Danny takes the fight with Jermell, it’ll be a nice little retirement payday for him to cash out. Goodness knows, Danny has worn out his welcome at 147, and he’s lost too many fights in that weight division for him to be useful as a B-side opponent for anyone.
Danny’s lack of hand speed was exposed in his three defeats at 147, and it”ll likely be worse when he moves up to 154. When Garcia fought at 140, his power was so good in that weight class that it disguised his slow hands.
Garcia has lost 2 out of his last 4 fights
The 33-year-old Danny’s career has floundered in the 147-lb division in the last four years, with him losing three out of his last six fights since 2017. Things are looking pretty desperate for Garcia, clearly why he wants to move up to 154.
Danny states that he walks around a cut-up 160, but he’s been looking chunky in recent interviews, and he’s been covering up his flabby midsection.
Some boxing fans believe that Garcia has lost his motivation and is choosing to move up to 154 for a payday against Charlo and to be in a position to possibly get a bone thrown to him by Gennadiy Golovkin the IBF 160-lb champion.
Before Charlo, 31, can turn his sights to Danny Garcia, he must beat Castano (17-0-1, 12 KOs) on July 17th on Showtime at the A&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
That will not be an easy fight for Charlo because Castano has a similar fighting style as Shawn Porter, but he’s more active with his career and bigger.
Jermell Charlo calling out Danny Garcia
“If Danny Garcia wants to test that water if it’s deep in this ocean, then come and see what the action is about. He don’t got to lose weight,” said Jermell Charlo on social media.
“He was a lot slower at 147 fighting Errol Spence. If he wants to gain some weight to put on some power and put on some pounds, it ain’t going to help,” said Jermell.
There are better fights out there for Jermell Charlo at 154 than for him to be facing a played-out Danny, who should be fighting at 140.
Boxing fans would like to see Jermell fight unbeaten Tim Tszyu next. That ould be an excellent fight for Charlo. Also, a rematch between Jermell and Erickson Lubin would be interesting for fans.
Since moving up to the welterweight division in 2014, Danny Swift has lost to Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, and Errol Spence Jr.
Garcia’s wins at 147 have come against these less than excellent fighters:
- Brandon Rios
- Adrian Granados
- Ivan Redkach
- Samuel Vargas
- Robert Guerrero
- Lamont Peterson
- Paulie Malignaggi
- Rod Salka
Danny lacks quality wins at 147
Garcia has never beaten anyone that you can say, ‘That guy was a good fighter.’ When Danny has stepped up to the plate at 147, he’s been beaten by Shawn Porter, Keith Thurman, and Errol Spence Jr.
Yeah, Danny has won many fights at 147, but his opposition hasn’t been outstanding. He’s beaten a lot of guys that many of the less popular contenders would beat.
Even a fringe contender like Conor Benn or Egidijus Kavaliauskas would have beaten all the guys that Danny has since he moved up to 147 in 2014.
Jermell hasn’t beaten an interesting opponent since his victory over Lubin in 2017.
As a result, boxing fans don’t want to see another soft touch for Jermell because they’ve seen too many already.
“If the money is making sense, I’ll move up to 160, my twin brother is there, and we can accomplish goals together,” said Jermell. “It all depends on how hungry I am for something like that.”