Erislandy Lara defeated Danny Garcia in the third defense of his WBA middleweight title (photo courtesy of PBC),
by Joseph Santoliquito |
About 120 seconds into the Erislandy Lara-Danny Garcia WBA middleweight title fight, a topic came up. Or rather, was heard. A chorus of boos rained down on the fighters as the fight unfolded with a guttural disapproval that didn’t let up for the next eight rounds.
Lara made his third defense of his WBA middleweight title at 157 pounds, knocking down and stopping Garcia in the ninth round during the PBC Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga Prime pay-per-view event before a sold-out crowd of 20,312 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
“The punches I threw hurt him,” Lara said. “That punch that ended the fight was a massive punch. I thought I boxed beautifully. It was a work of art, like a Picasso. I was denying everything Danny had. He’s a great fighter and a Hall of Famer, just like me.
“I used lateral movement with a long straight to throw my difficult punches, just like you learn in the Cuban boxing school. I’m ready for the next challenge. I’ll stay here. I still have a lot of boxing to do.”
CompuBox stats revealed that Garcia landed only 33 punches, while Lara landed just 63. According to CompuBox, Lara (31-3-3, 19 knockouts) landed more straight punches than power punches (37/26), but his final power punch dropped Garcia overdue in the ninth round.
It was Lara’s fourth consecutive knockout victory.
Of the 18 rounds fought between the 36-year-old former two-division champion Garcia and the 41-year-old Cuban emigrant Lara, both landed double-digit punches in just four rounds.
Garcia (37-4, 21 KOs) had a 26-month layoff behind him, which was his personal record.
It was apparent.
“I’m OK,” Garcia said. “After a two-year layoff, I tried to be great, but it wasn’t my night. No excuses. I didn’t think the layoff would affect me like this, but there are no excuses. I couldn’t find my rhythm. He had a forceful jab and controlled the distance well.
“At the end of the day, my dad (Angel) will always do what’s best for me. I tried to conquer the third division and I didn’t succeed. I’ve been at the top for a long time, I take it on the chest like a true champion.”
Garcia then apologized to his fans and the crowd at T-Mobile Arena.
It was supposed to be a tough test for Lara, the No. 4 middleweight in The Ring. He agreed to face Garcia at 157 pounds, which apparently might be tougher for Lara than for Garcia.
It didn’t look like it.
Both men closed the first round buzzing, although it was obvious Lara intended to employ his 7-inch reach advantage (75½ inches to Garcia’s 68½). He punched to Garcia’s midsection, trying to lure him into a punch so he could counter.
Tardy in the second round, Lara began to pressure Garcia even more, again amid boos. In the background, referee Thomas Taylor could be heard telling the fighters, “Watch your feet, guys, watch your feet.”
What little Lara landed seemed to put a red tint on Garcia’s face. Meanwhile, Garcia couldn’t do anything. He threw eight punches and didn’t land any in the second round.
With 1:16 left in the third round, Lara finally landed her first massive punch of the fight. In the final minute, fans of the third round in a row showed their displeasure with the tactical approach of each fighter. At the end of the third round, Thomas informed the judges that Garcia had received an accidental headbutt.
The fourth round was also uneventful. The fight was becoming a mass audience sedative. When Garcia returned to his corner, Angel Garcia, Danny’s father and trainer, kept asking Danny, “Are you okay, are you okay?”
In the middle of the fifth, Garcia tried a quick combination, albeit reluctantly. Garcia hesitated, unsure what to do. Lara poked and prodded, and when Garcia still did nothing, Lara did a little more.
For five minutes it was effortless to predict that Lara would throw a shutout.
After the sixth round, Angel suspected something was wrong, so he asked Danny repeatedly, “Are you okay, are you okay?” Danny’s corner, sensing the fight was getting out of hand, pleaded with his fighter to push Lara and force him to fight.
Meanwhile, Garcia did nothing but stand there. He seemed resigned to the idea that this was probably his last fight, because the entire fight of his illustrious career seemed lost.
Lara was content to stay on the outside and land her blows, keeping a protected distance away and making the spectators do everything but ignore the fight, wishing for the main event to come sooner rather than later—if they were still conscious.
In the final seconds of the ninth round, Lara finished it himself, landing what looked like a left hook to Garcia’s face that floored Garcia for the first time in his career—and likely the last.
When Garcia returned to his corner, Angel had seen enough. He made a gesture with his hand to his throat, and that was it.
When Angel was asked what’s next for Danny, Angel said, “It’s up to Danny. Whatever he wants to do, I’m fine with it.”
With stable finances, a novel promotions firm and several businesses and properties under his belt, retirement may be a good option for the future Philadelphia Hall of Famer.
Follow @JSantoliquito [twitter.com]
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