At one point, Danny Garcia fought several times a year against some of the best fighters in the world. Nowadays, the 36-year-old has been painfully inactive. It’s the natural progression of a fighter who’s nearing the end of his boxing tunnel.
But, before Garcia removes his boxing trunks and waves goodbye to his fans for good, he believes he has a few more fights left in him. On September 14th, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Philadelphia star will add a few more pounds to his stocky frame when he moves up in weight to take on WBA middleweight belt holder, Erislandy Lara.
Looking past a current opponent has gotten far too many boxers in trouble. In short, focusing on a future foe as opposed to the one attempting to knock their head into the third row, hasn’t ended well on most occasions. Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs) has never been the type though. He knows that Lara, despite being 41, is as dangerous as they come. Gone are the days when the Cuban would box circles around his opponents before cruising to a points victory. With knockout wins in four of his last five appearances, Garcia is paying close attention to Lara’s deleterious left hand. He also has an eye on what could be next.
Terence Crawford, just a few short weeks ago, officially made his 154-pound debut, pulling out a close but clear win over Israil Madrimov. Ironically enough, Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) is much like Garcia. He’s been in the game for well over a decade and has built generational wealth by being good at punching people in the face.
There isn’t a ton of fight left in either man but Garcia has always been hopeful and interested in facing Crawford in the pros. In the amateurs, the two split a pair of meetings. Meaning, a tiebreaker could take place with a ton on the line if Garcia handles his business.
Proving that he was always the better fighter is something that Garcia wants without question. But before he fully entertains a scenario where he’s swapping fists with Crawford, he’s concentrating on a crafty and strong Cuban who will attempt to shut his lights off.
“Anything can happen,” Garcia explained to FightHype.com recently when asked about a Crawford fight. “I got Lara in front of me first. Right now, I just gotta win this Lara fight and sky’s the limit.”
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