Mayweather and other top fighters will heat up the same night
[BoxingGlove Notes]
Under the umbrella of the expected biggest mega fight of the year, Floyd “Money” Mayweather vs. Saul “El Canelo” Alvarez, scheduled for Saturday, September 14, 2013, Golden Boy Promotions has added a “blockbuster” of a semi-final championship fight between Danny “Swift” Garcia 140 pound World Champion, 26-0, 16 knockouts and Lucas”La Maquina” Matthysse, 34-2, 32 k.o.’s, Interim W.B.A. 140 Title holder.
Matthysse and Garcia are considered the 2 best super lightweights in the world.
What was Golden Boy Promotions thinking, what was the method to their madness in posting a lucrative mega fight of this exciting nature as an underneath or semi final bout when this fight alone could “sell” itself and it merits it’s own pay-per-view status? The answer is very simple. The Mayweather vs. Alvarez fight an already box-office sell out has the possibility to go “global” by adding Garcia vs. Matthysse.
Another reason is that Danny Garcia after he defeated Zab “Super” Judah began to demand a fight with Lucas Matthysse since he is the number 1 contender or challenger of his 140 pound throne. Defeating Matthysse as he predicted he could then challenge Mr. Pound for Pound Floyd “Money” Mayweather if Mayweather as he predicted, is successful in defeating Saul “El Canelo” Alvarez. How is that for confident thinking and positive planning?
According to Mayweather’s 6 fight $200 million dollar fight contract with Showtime Cable, he will then have a balance of 4 fights and Garcia wants to be a participant in one of the 4 remaining of Floyd Mayweather’s lucrative 6 fight victory tour towards retirement.
Did Danny Garcia “bite off more than he could chew” and/or does the statement, “beware of what you ask for”, looms large when he demanded the Matthysse fight? Well, let’s be analytical!
Danny “Swift” Garcia is undefeated in 26 fights, and is the W.B.A., W.B.C., and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight World Champion, having scored 16 knockouts, beating Eric Morales twice by knockout, he also knocked out former champ Amir Khan while defeating former 4-time champ Zab “Super” Judah and Kendall Holt both by decision.
On the other corner of the “ring” he-Danny- is facing one of hardest punchers in boxing today of all weight levels in Matthysse. Lucas Matthysse “boasts” of a 94% knockout ratio, scoring 6 straight k.o.’s including knocking out Lamont Peterson and winning the I.B.F. Junior Welterweight title while retaining his W.B.C. Interim Super Lightweight Championship. Having lost to Zab Judah and Devon Alexander by disputed decisions an angry Matthysse stated that perhaps “it would be better if I knocked out all of my opponents because then I would be guaranteed of a victory since I cannot win by decision”.
It seems to me that by his straight 6 fight k.o. ratio he has meant what he stated. Does that mean that Garcia faces the same knockout loss fate? In a conference call interview conducted by Golden Boy Promotions, Garcia stated that he is well aware of Matthysse’s punching power, “but I can also punch, I scored 16 knockouts, and I am preparing well for whatever he brings to ring, and, I wanted this fight.” Garcia further stated with the clarity and confidence of a ring veteran that, “most of Matthysse’s knockouts were scored in Argentina his home town, so who knows what caliber of weak fighters he built his reputation on, we will see on September 14 who is the harder puncher.”
My very big concern in terms of Garcia is that he has exhibited in my point of view many flaws in his style of fighting offensively and defensively which would be a great advantage for a savage puncher like Lucas Matthysse who is a body and head punisher while at the same very defensive, and fast.
Yes, Danny Garcia is very a confident, tough young man and a very proud undefeated World Champion, but is that enough to beat this hard-core veteran from Argentina? What is very important to realize in boxing is that although you may be undefeated in the ring you must go back to the gym after a fight and “study” your mistakes and correct them. From the last five fights I have seen Garcia fight alas, he has not corrected them, he telegraphs too many punches, he gets hit too much, and he stands up too straight.
I hope for this career defining fight and the most important fight of his career that he demanded, while he is in camp with 6 weeks to go, his Trainer, his Father, Angel, has corrected them, or maybe added another trainer to help him. Too many times a mistake is made when we live by the erroneous code of, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”! Danny Garcia is undefeated but he needs, “fixing”, not only for Matthysse, and if victorious, for his next fight possibly with the “King of the Ring”, Floyd “Money” Mayweather. There is too much at stake.
Added excitement for this September 14th. fight night is the fact that Golden Boy Promotions has added 2 other exciting fights. One is the I.B.F. junior Middleweight Championship fight between defending Champ, Ishe Smith, 25-5, 11 k.o.’s, and Carlos Molina, 21-5-2, 6 knockouts, veteran journeyman , and the other fight at the Junior Welterweight level is with a British import, Ashley Theophane against Mexican, Pablo Cesar Cano. Cano’s claim to fame is having lost 2 close decisions one to former 147 pound champ, Paulie Malignaggi, and the other to “Sugar” Shane Mosley, former 4-time world title holder on the comeback trail. Despite those 2 losses Cano at 23 years of age is still considered a future championship prospect.
So despite other exciting fights to look forward to in the future such as, Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Timothy Bradley in October /2013 in Las Vegas, and Manny Pacquiao vs. Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios in, Macao, China, on November 23, 2013, to name just 2, the Saul “El Canelo” Alvarez vs. Floyd “Money” Mayweather is by far still the “hottest ticket on Broadway”.
