By: Hans Themistode
Former Two division world champion Danny Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs) receives a lot of flack.
His run at 140 pounds was spectacular. Wins over Amir Khan, Erik Morales, Zab Judah and Lucas Matthysse propelled him to the top of the division.
The accolades and praise he collected during his run was well warranted. But fast forward five years later, and those cheers have turned into boo’s. Garcia’s run at 147, has left a lot to be desired. Sure he’s picked up wins against former champions in Paulie Malignaggi, Robert Guerrero and Brandon Rios but they were all believed to be past their collective primes. Add those lackluster wins with losses against Keith Thurman as well as Shawn Porter, and the criticism has been through the roof.
Never has Garcia and three division world champion Terence Crawford ever been on the same page. But in this instance, Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) is tired of hearing the Garcia scrutiny.
“Danny Garcia is a great fighter,” Crawford (36-0, 27KOs) insisted during a recent video interview with ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe. “I’ve been telling a lot of people about Danny Garcia ever since they’ve been saying that he’s cherry picking. I know he’s not.”
Garcia’s detractor’s mostly come from those on the outside looking in. Crawford on the other hand, has first hand experience as to why he believes that Garcia is such a great fighter.
“Me and Danny actually fought twice. I know what strengths he presents. He can box, he can bang. He’s strong, he can take a punch. He’s always in shape. When you fight Danny, you always have to be on your A-game. If you’re up on points, he’s going to bring it and you have to be ready for it.”
With the series tied at one a piece, both Garcia and Crawford could be on their way to settling the score once and for all with Garcia currently ranked number one in the WBO. With the history that these two share, you could say that there a match made in Heaven.
“I just feel like my style and his style are good for each other,” Crawford believes. “You have two counter punchers, two strong fighters, a little bit of history behind it. We’re both 1-1. Anything Danny can do, I can do as well.”
“What I think separates us is my boxing IQ, me being able to switch up and being able to box and my speed.”