Danny Garcia says he’d like to take on Terence Crawford and he feels that it wouldn’t be a hard fight to make after he faces Erislandy Lara first at 154.
The former two-division world champion Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs) hasn’t fought in almost two years, and he says he’d like to get active again before he takes on the unbeaten Crawford.
Danny’s last fight was in July 2022, beating Jose Benavidez Jr. by twelve-round majority decision. Garcia’s career hasn’t gone well since 2017, with him posting a 4-3 record during that time.
Some boxing fans believe Garcia has been washed since 2013 after his war with Lucas Matthysse. Since then, Danny has kept things together, beating softer opposition and losing when put in quality fighters.
Focused On Lara
“I wish I could fight anybody because I know that any fight that I want, I could make it happen. I know I could make any fight I want happen,” said Danny Garcia to Fighthype when asked if he’d like to fight Terence Crawford.
“I don’t say I wish, but any fight could happen. It’s not that hard to make it happen. I’d like to be a little active going into that fight [Crawford], though. So, I definitely want to fight [Erislandy] Lara and win that fight.
“After I fight Lara, then anything can happen,” said Danny Garcia.
It’s unclear why Danny wants to fight the 40-year-old Lara (29-3-3, 17 KOs), considering he hasn’t fought in almost two years since his victory over Gary O’Sullivan in 2022. At this point, fighting the Cuban Lara would be the equivalent of an old-timer’s type of clash and disappointing.
If Danny is going to get active again, he’d be better off fighting this era’s fighters rather than continually digging into the past, facing guys that are invisible with this generation of fans. Garcia’s last opponent was another old guy, Jose Benavidez Jr., who isn’t relevant either. Danny would be better off fighting one of these guys if he wants to prepare himself for a Crawford fight:
- Jesus Ramos
- Vergil Ortiz Jr.
- Israil Madrimov
- Erickson Lubin
- Xander Zayas
Spence Shockwaves
“I wanted to fight in 2023. I’d love to fight two times this year, but as people don’t know, it’s not that simple for any fighter,” said Garcia.
“I feel like that fight had so much of a build-up and then it was dominated by Crawford, and people just don’t know how to take it because they thought it was going to be a competitive fight. Nobody thought he [Crawford] was going to go in there and just dominate him and walk through him,” said Garcia about the Crawford vs. Errol Spence Jr. mega-fight from last July.
“A lot of people feel like there had to be something wrong with Spence. There’s no way that Crawford could be levels above him like that. I feel like, at this point in their career, Terence is the better fighter.
“He won that fight because he is better. People want to see it again because they can’t believe how easy it was for him. At this point in their career, I feel like he’s [Crawford] the better fighter [than Spence],” said Danny.
Has Garcia Lost His Hunger?
It looks like Crawford could be freed up now that his rematch with Spence appears to be off the table due to his eye surgery and seeming indifference to a second fight. That’s potentially a good thing for Danny, but he’s going to have to lean on his management to make the fight and not sit on the sidelines, waiting for a fight with the old-time Lara.
“It doesn’t matter to me. That’s up to them,” said Danny when asked if he’d like to see a rematch between Crawford and Spence. “As a fan, I feel like there are better fights out there for both of them. It just depends on how they feel. But as far as me, it really doesn’t matter to me.”
Danny doesn’t sound overly ambitious, does he? He’s already made his millions, so that could be the reason he’s not going for the Crawford fight tooth & nail.
“I just got to get this Lara fight popping, and then we’ll see what happens after that. That’s the only thing that’s on my radar right now is that fight,” said Danny when asked if he’d like to try and become a three-division world champion at 154.
