By: Hans Themistode
Outside of facing WBO welterweight belt holder Terence Crawford, Danny Garcia has been fortunate enough to share the ring with three of the best welterweights in the world. However, he’s also had the misfortune of losing to all three.
In March of 2017, Garcia picked up the first loss of his career at the hands of former unified champion Keith Thurman via split decision. One year later, Garcia would lose again, this time to former two-time titlist Shawn Porter.
Thanks to current unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. on Saturday night, Garcia would find himself on the losing end of another high stakes bout. Unlike his previous defeats in which Garcia was competitive, the Philadelphia native was thoroughly outboxed and outworked.
While Garcia believes all three of them are great fighters, he gives the slight edge to Spence Jr.
“I feel like they’re all kind of on the same level,” said Garcia following his loss to Spence Jr. “He has a better jab and he’s stronger than all three of them. Physically stronger than all three of them.”
The loss for Garcia was a crucial one. During the lead up of their welterweight showdown, the former two-division titlist expressed extreme confidence. Yet, it was clear early on that the Philadelphia native had little answers for not only the boxing ability and inside game of his opponent, but also his jab. On countless occasions, Garcia’s head would snap back because of it. No excuses were given as to why he couldn’t adjust to Spence Jr.’s long-range attack. Instead, he simply tipped his cap to the Dallas product.
“The key to the fight was his jab. If I would’ve took his jab a little bit more then I think I would have been more successful. Everything else I feel like I knew what he was going to do. I should’ve been busier but it’s easy to say. We were trying to land that right hand over the side, I landed it a few times but he took it well. I landed to the body good but he took it well, what can I say? He’s a true champion, I’m a true champion and we fought hard for 12 rounds but the judges gave it to him, he was the better man. I can’t make any excuses.”
