In an evening billed as Brooklyn’s final bow, Danny Garcia (38-4, 22 KO) rightly provided an encore of his first fight at the Barclays Center. Garcia used his trademark left hook to knock out Danny Gonzalez (22-5-1, 7 KOs) in the fourth round, scoring a knockout in the same round with the same punch as in his first fight at the brand modern Barclays Center twelve years ago against Mexican legend Erik Morales.
For Danny Garcia, it was goodbye to Brooklyn. For local boxing fans, it was a farewell to a consummate professional who delighted fans during over 40 professional fights. Garcia is originally from Philadelphia, but the Philadelphia native made Brooklyn his adoptive home, and his fight against Daniel Gonzalez was Garcia’s 10th appearance at the Barclays Center.
Like Brooklyn’s iconic architectural masterpiece, Danny Garcia helped introduce a modern generation of boxing fans to Modern York’s largest borough. On why Garcia felt so comfortable making Brooklyn his home away from home, as the Beastie Boys sang in An Open Letter to Modern York:
Brownstones, water towers, trees, skyscrapers
Writers, prize fighters and Wall Street traders
We meet in subway cars
Diversity united, whoever you are
…
During his last appearance at the Barclays Center, Garcia was accompanied to the ring by two top teenage fighters, Stephen Fulton and Teofilmo Lopez, hailing from Philadelphia and Brooklyn, respectively. Whether this was the last fight of Garcia’s career, or whether it was fought exclusively in Brooklyn, remains an open question.
So many fans have supported Danny Garcia over the years because they have witnessed the fierce determination with which he pursues his craft. While he’s not as thunderous and flashy as other boxers, Garcia simply keeps his head down, works difficult every day and lets the fight night results speak for themselves. If a Danny Garcia fight was on the card for the last decade, you knew you were going to get a quality, competitive fight.
Given the caliber of his resume, perhaps artists should start planning where in Brooklyn the Danny Garcia mural should be painted.
Garcia won his first world championship gold when he defeated Erik Morales in March 2012 to become the WBC super lightweight champion. In his first title defense, Garcia was a 4-to-1 underdog against Amir Khan. Despite suffering a cut to his right eye in the second round, Garcia knocked down Khan three times en route to a fourth-round TKO victory, forcing fight fans to take notice of Danny “Swift” Garcia.
Following his victory over Khan, Garcia fought a rematch with Eric Morales, headlining the first boxing event held at the brand modern Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Modern York. Garcia decisively won the rematch via fourth-round knockout, sending the legendary Morales into retirement with a venomous left hook.
Garcia was once again the underdog in his next title defense against Argentine Lucas Matthysse. At the time, Matthysse was the guy no one wanted to face, a relentless fighter who won by knockout 94% of the time. However, Garcia handled Matthysse in a way no one had done before, knocking down Matthysse for the first time in his professional career en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Garcia later became a second-division world champion by defeating Robert Guerrero to win the WBC welterweight championship in 2016.
During his career, Danny Garcia was 11-4 against current or former world champions, defeating contemporaries such as Zab Judah, Paulie Malignaggi and Lamont Peterson. Garcia lost by decisions to Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter and Errol Spence Jr.
Last year, Garcia tried to wrest the middleweight title from Erislanda Lara in an attempt to become a third-division world champion, which turned out to be a bridge too far. For Brooklyn fight fans, this was not a show that should have featured a great fighter like Garcia. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.
Whenever Danny Garcia retires from in-ring competition, he will remain in the fight as a full-time promoter with his company, Swift Promotions, which has landed on Saturday’s event. Let’s hope that in a boxing promotional environment with as much uncertainty and general consternation as ever lately, Danny Garcia will have a steady hand and a powerful presence. When exactly Garcia will hang up his mouthpiece to become a mouthpiece will be decided soon.
Although it was his final post-fight appearance in Brooklyn, Garcia was undecided on whether he would hang up the gloves for good. “I’m finally well and have a attractive family. I don’t know if I’m done yet.”
These are things everyone can be grateful for. Fans can also be grateful that Danny Garcia continues to be involved in boxing in some capacity.
MMA2 days ago
Boxing2 days ago
MMA2 days ago
MMA2 days ago
Boxing2 days ago
Boxing2 days ago
MMA2 days ago
Boxing2 days ago