There was no bad blood between veteran Cuban Erislandy Lara and Danny Garcia ahead of their September 14 bout in Las Vegas, even though their fight has been years in the making.
They shook hands at Monday’s New York press conference to formally announce their fight as the co-main to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s super-middleweight title defense against Edgar Berlanga. Announced for the first time, quietly, was the return of Philadelphia’s Stephen Fulton, against Carlos Castro.
The 36-year-old Danny Garcia is coming off a two-year layoff and has strutted into a world-title shot in a division he has yet to fight in, challenging Cuban Lara, the WBA middleweight champion.
“I’ve got a tough fight against Lara,” Garcia said. “He’s been around as long as I’ve been around. Two, two-division champions going at it – mono a mono, September 14. It’s going to be an epic night. I’m looking forward to making history. I just feel blessed to be back. I love boxing like a fat kid loves cake.”
Philadelphia veteran Garcia is 37-3 (21 KOs). Lara, 41, is 30-3-3 (18 KOs), and he spoke only briefly at the dais. “This is not the time to be talking too much. Yes, he is good, he can think whatever he wants, but we will talk in September.
“That [the outcome] is already written down. I don’t have to tell anyone. I’m going to be the champion.”
Garcia was far more talkative.
“I wasn’t off two years because I wanted to be,” he explained. “Boxing took a change and I sat down and waited for my opportunity. The fight was supposed to happen last year, in August, and it’s a fight I’ve been planning for and a fight that I wanted. Lara has something I want, which is a title. I have the name; he wants my name; I want his title. It makes perfect sense.”
Then, discussing the move up in weight, Garcia added: “I feel like boxing’s all mental. You can do whatever you put your mind to. I know mentally I can do anything that I put my mind to. It’s just weight. Boxing’s about skill and will. At the end of the day, when you’re tired, and you’re going into those championship rounds, it’s all about who’s got the most will. They can box, but everyone knows Danny Garcia can fight. I come to fight.
“I know I’m great and when you’re great you take a shot at greatness and that’s why I’m here.”
Their fight is being promoted by Canelo Promotions and TGB in association with Matchroom.
Tom Brown, of TGB, said: “Erislandy Lara is coming off a big second-round knockout in March [over Michael Zerafa]; he’s a former 154lbs world champion; he makes for great fights. It’s great to have Danny back, challenging for a world title. He’s a two-division world champion; one of the best 140-pounders of all-time; an old-school fighter who’s always willing to fight the best in the business.”
Also at the table was Fulton, the former unified junior featherweight champion, 21-1 (8 KOs), fighting for the first time since his defeat in the summer of 2023 by Naoya Inoue.
“It’s good to be back,” he said. “I really don’t have much to say. I appreciate y’all.”
Fulton-Castro will be at 126lbs and headline the Prime Video build-up card.
“I’m just ready to be back,” said Fulton. “I think it’s now [why he’s back after a year out] because it’s the right moment for everything that’s been going on.”
While it will mark his debut at featherweight, Fulton believes it is merely a stop on his way through the weight classes.
“More titles,” Fulton said of his goals. “I feel like I wanted to go to 130 but I’ll take a pit stop here first, get my feet wet a little bit, hopefully become a two-division world champion, move up, do the same thing.”
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