Danny Garcia contemplates retiring from boxing after defeat to Erislandy Lara

Danny Garcia has admitted he is now reconsidering the future of his career after enduring a one-sided defeat to Erislandy Lara at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night.

Referee Thomas Taylor stopped the fight in Round 9 after Garcia’s father and trainer Angel Garcia threw in the towel, earning Lara a TKO victory and successful defense of his WBA middleweight title in the process.

A disappointed 36-year-old Garca (37-4, 21 KOs) said he tried to do something great but failed. “I gotta sit back and think about it,” he explained. “You know, I didn’t have a long, long career. You know, I’ve been at the top of the game for 12 years.”

Philadelphia’s Garcia was fighting for the second time in four years since losing a 12-round unanimous decision to Errol Spence Jr in their WBC and IBF unification bout in Dec. 2020. Since then, Garcia had won a majority decision over Jose Benavidez Jr in July 2022.

When asked if he agreed with his father’s decision to end the fight, Garcia said: “For sure. I mean, at the end of the day, he’s always gonna do what’s best for me. I apologize to all my fans. I tried to be great tonight.”

The Philadelphia native talked about his struggles with mental health and said he tried to fight through it against the oldest Cuban champion Lara.

“I overcame things outside the ring so, if you go through mental health issues, just stay strong. I tried to fight through it tonight and It wasn’t just my night.

“I tried my best. It just wasn’t clicking, I can’t, I have no excuses.”

Meanwhile, Garcia’s father and trainer, Angel, said he would welcome any decision concerning his son’s boxing future.

“It’s always a great honor to be here and see Danny fight. Might be my last, I don’t know. Only God knows that. 

“I think he’s got to decide whatever he wants to do, but whatever he wants to do, I’m okay with it”.

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].