By Craig Daly: Inactive former two-division world champion Danny Garcia will be turning to action this Saturday night against Jose Benavidez Jr in a 12-round fight at 154 on Showtime at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The always popular Danny ‘Swift’ (36-3, 21 KOs) wants to capture a third division world title at 154, and beating Benavidez (27-1-1, 18 KOs) is the first step of the journey.
Garcia, 34, lost his last fight against Errol Spence Jr in December 2020, but he feels he could have won if he’d followed up after hurting him on several occasions.
Danny’s decision to take a break from boxing for two years was a questionable move, as he’s lost a lot of time in his career. With Garcia in his early 30s, it’s unclear whether he’s got enough left in the tank to reinvent himself at 154.
Considered small for a welterweight, Danny will be even more outsized at junior middleweight, going up against bigger fighters like Jermell Charlo, Sebastian Fundora, and Tim Tszyu.
Jose Benavidez Jr. is the brother of the popular unbeaten 168-lb contender David Benavidez, who many boxing fans believe is the best fighter at super middleweight.
Benavidez Jr has fought lesser opposition in record-padding fights during his 12-year career.
In 2018, Benavidez Jr temporarily took a break from fighting second-tier opposition when he fought superstar Terence Crawford, but it ended badly for him, losing by a 12th-round knockout.
After that loss, Benavidez Jr took a three-year break from action before returning to the ring last year against journeyman Francisco Emanuel Torres in November 2021.
The judges scored it a 10-round draw, but it appeared Torres had done enough to deserve the victory over Benavidez Jr.
“He’s a tough guy, so you got to hit him hard and make him think twice. It’s not going to be easy, but I’m going to make him work for everything he brings to the table,” said Danny Garcia to Thaboxingvoice. reenergized
“I think when he fought Crawford, Crawford had just moved up to 147] around that time. So he wasn’t like a fully blown welterweight yet. He was still considered a small welterweight,” said Danny about Benavidez being able to take Terence Crawford’s best shots in their fight in 2018.
“Now, in the Porter fight, he looked way bigger than he did in that fight. So, I feel like he caught Terence Crawford at the right time.
“I feel my stamina and my power [have improved]. Even when I’m breathing hard, I can keep pushing myself and keeping that engine rolling,” Garcia said about his move up to 154. I’m the type of person I was born with power, so I just got to work on other things.
“I feel like I could have stopped Redkach if I didn’t take my foot off the gas, and I feel like I could have stopped [Errol] Spence too if I put my punches together because I hurt him a few times in the fight.
“I hit him with some overhand rights, and I buckled him a little bit, but I just didn’t follow up,” said Danny,
