By Jackie Kallen
Danny Garcia has some big-ass balls. He doesn’t run from anyone and he faces the best in his division. He’s a throw-back to the guys Like Thomas Hearns and James Toney who feared no man. Fighting Lucas Matthysse on September 14 is a courageous move.
Starting with the fight against Nate Campbell a couple of years ago, Garcia has shown the boxing world what he is made of. He went on to beat Kendall Holt and Erik Morales before stepping it up by facing Amir Khan. Despite a cut over his right eye, he knocked Khan out in the 4th round.
By then the believers were lining up and the doubters were shutting their mouths. A rematch with Morales ended in a 4th round stoppage. In April of this year, he fought Zab Judah–dropping him in the eighth and winning a decision.
Now he is throwing caution to the wind and putting it all on the line against one of the hardest hitters in the business. Matthysse is a beast. Ask my junior welterweight Mike Dallas who mixed it up with him in January. He didn’t get out of the first round. Fighting the Argentinian is like standing in front of a Mack truck and praying it won’t run you over. Good luck.
30 year old Matthysse is four years older and a couple of inches shorter. But he has an intimidating 86% KO ratio. Garcia is no slouch at 61%. But if a person saw Matthysse flatten Dallas and Lamont Peterson, they’d be questioning Garcia’s common sense.
In my opinion, this fight is as exciting as Mayweather/Alvarez. Whenever a fight makes you scratch your head and wonder who will win–it’s going to be a great fight. When you clutch your money in your hand, afraid to bet either way–it’s going to be a great fight. When you’d rather face a firing squad than fight either man–it’s going to be a great fight.
Straight out of the gate, Matthysse is the odds-on favorite. But the big bettors will drop their wad on Garcia, hoping to make a killing. That will tighten things up by fight time. In any event, the fans are the clear winners here. What a night of boxing it’s going to be!
