Danny Garcia’s staying power and name recognition leads to a surprise middleweight title shot

Danny Garcia was the co-featured attraction when Saul “Canelo” Alvarez fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013, beating Lucas Matthysse to defend his 140-pound WBC title for a fourth time.

Eleven years later, Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs) will co-headline an Alvarez event for a second time when he challenges WBA middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (30-3-3, 18 KOs) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. 

The fight will be contested at a 157-pound catchweight. 

Cashing in on his staying power and name recognition, “Swift” Garcia, now 36, will return from a 27-month hiatus for the surprise title shot looking to become a three-division champion and further make his case for Hall of Fame consideration. 

“I’m happy to be back and blessed to be here. This event is as big as it gets,” Garcia told BoxingScene. 

“I’m going to be the best fighter Lara has faced in years. I’m ready for whatever he brings to the table. Yeah, definitely [I made the catchweight request]. He’s the champion, but I am the name. He’s going to make some money fighting me. So we met in the middle.

“You really can’t tell if Lara has flaws [at the age of 41] because he’s knocking out lower-level competition. It’s definitely going to be a chess match in the beginning. He’s a very smart fighter. I have to stay smart as well, composed, and make adjustments like a true champion and win as many rounds as I can. I would love to outbox the boxer, but if it turns into a fight, we are ready to fight. I’ll be ready to do whatever.”

Garcia last fought in July 2022 and beat Jose Benavidez Jr. in his junior middleweight debut after beating the likes of Matthysse, Erik Morales (twice), Amir Khan, Zab Judah, Lamont Peterson, Paul Malignaggi, Robert Guerrero, and Brandon Rios across 140 and 147 pounds. Garcia also has narrow decision losses to Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, and Errol Spence Jr.

Win or lose, Garcia could be one-and-done at 160 pounds because of his size, and how the division is arguably the weakest in the entire sport. Plus, there are many more significant fights potentially waiting for Garcia at 154 pounds against the likes of Terence Crawford, Sebastian Fundora, Vergil Ortiz Jr., Jermell Charlo, Tim Tszyu, Israil Madromov, and Serhii Bohachuk, and even rematches with Thurman and Spence. 

“There is definitely a difference in sparring [against middleweights],” said Garcia.

“I actually feel a lot faster than them. They are physically stronger when you hit them. They feel bigger. I’m working on pacing my shots and not really trying to load up and letting my hands go. 

“I’ve never backed down from anyone but there is no one really at middleweight, name-wise. I’m sure there are guys who can fight in the division, but I really don’t know any of the names. I would love to run it back with Keith Thurman. I wanted to avenge that loss, and that was the toughest one. All of those big fights make sense, and they are easy to make. I have to get past Lara to get to the next level.” 

Immediately after the Benavidez win, Garcia opened up about his mental health problems. The Philadelphia-born and bred fighter also launched his own promotional company, Swift Promotion, and staged a show in Atlantic City.  

As he enters the last act of his career, talks of retirement begin creeping in. 

“Right now I’m taking it one fight at a time,” said Garcia. “Boxing is a lot of hard work, dedication, and sacrifice, and you lose time with your family and children. You can’t fight forever, but right now I love it. When I feel that I have lost a step in the gym, that’s when it’s time for me to retire.

“My dream was to be a three-division champion, and it’s right there in front of me. I just have to go and grab it to make history.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine, and more. He’s been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.