By: Hans Themistode
At one point in time, Danny Garcia simply couldn’t be beaten. No matter who was placed in front of the Philadelphia born fighter, he found a way to leave the ring with his hand raised in victory. His aura of invincibility however, left him the moment he left the 140-pound division and ventured seven pounds north in 2015.
While his skills were lauded as a unified champion as a Jr. welterweight, Keith Thurman just doesn’t believe he stacks up to anyone of note in a much bigger weight class.
“Let’s just be honest on where his skills are in the welterweight division,” said Thurman during an Instagram live session. “He’s been struggling ever since he hit 147. Let’s be real.”
Thurman of course, handed Garcia the first loss of his career back in 2017. Despite the Florida native edging a split decision, many believed Thurman easily outboxed his man on the night and deserved a much larger margin of victory.
Since the win, Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs) has spent the majority of his career battling injuries. Immediately following his victory over Garcia, Thurman was forced to sit out roughly two years due to a hand and elbow injury. He’s since managed to return to the ring on two occasions. A victory over Josesito Lopez in January of 2019, followed by a split decision loss to Manny Pacquiao six months later, the first defeat of his career.
Much like the unfortunate pattern that has plagued his career, Thurman has once again sat sitting idly on the sidelines due to various injuries. For Garcia (36-3, 21 KOs) on the other hand, the former two-division titlist has been active, but the results have been erratic.
Outside of his victories against fringe contenders Brandon Rios, Adrian Granados and Ivan Redkach – Garcia has lost the two biggest fights of his career. In 2018, the Philadelphia native came up short in his bid to once again become a world champion against Shawn Porter and most recently, Garcia was thoroughly outclassed against unified champion Errol Spence Jr. The effort which he put forth was abysmal according to Thurman. Now, with multiple losses on the biggest of stages, Thurman questions if Garcia truly wants it anymore.
“He barely threw any punches. He was in the pocket and he didn’t pull the trigger. He was right there in the pocket. I don’t know if he got that dog in him anymore. That Philly boy, I don’t know if he got that dog in him anymore man. He’s very cautious, very timid. He’s a timid fighter now, just hoping to land something.”