Danny Garcia: 'No matter who I fight, some fans will never be satisfied'
By:
Mike Coppinger | October 13, 2016 6:18 pm
Danny Garcia acknowledges that his Nov. 12 bout is a stay-busy fight.
There’s nothing else you can call it when a top fighter such as Garcia faces a no-hoper like Samuel Vargas.
But the stay-busy fight is nothing new in boxing. In fact, they’ve been happening since the beginning of boxing’s modern era; well over 100 years.
Garcia is excited for his Philadelphia homecoming — “a dream come true” — but the Wednesday announcement caught the ire of boxing fans, even though it was accompanied with news it’s a tune-up for a marquee welterweight unification title meeting with Keith Thurman in March.
“I don’t know, just the way it is,” Garcia told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday when asked why fans are so vitriolic toward him on social media. “No matter who I fight some fans will never be satisfied. But there are fans that support everything I do. I’m excited. it’s going to be tremendous.”
Garcia is regarded as a top-15 pound-for-pound fighter and remains undefeated. Lately, though, his opposition has left much to be desired.
Garcia topped Robert Guerrero in January, a titleholder has seen better days. Last year, he fought Paulie Malignaggi in his first fight at 147 pounds; the Brooklynite retired after the loss before returning.
But “Swift” points out that his April 2015 win (his last at 140 pounds) was against Lamont Peterson, who held a title at the time and was a highly regarded opponent.
And of course, Garcia still owns highlight victories over Amir Khan and Lucas Matthysse, both upsets.
“Those were great fights, that was the pinnacle of my 140-pound career,” said Garcia, who made five junior welterweight title defenses. “This is only my third fight at welterweight.
” … I’m not mad about how my career’s being moved. I think it’s being moved perfectly and it’s all about timing.”
Thurman, Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. all poked fun at Garcia on social media following the announcement of Vargas as the opponent. Spence, perhaps the best young talent in boxing, tweeted “Danny say I have to pay my dues but he fighting somebody I knocked out already.”
Crawford, who holds two titles at 140 pounds and exchanged words with Garcia earlier this year, tweeted to Danny “Wanna be like you one day, you got it made.”
And then there was Thurman, who posted this:
Garcia, though, shrugs off the criticism.
“I ain’t worried about that. At the end of the day I have to handle business. With that date in March with Thurman there is nothing else he can do or say. He got what he asked for and that’s going to be it.
“I’ve always been taught be careful what you ask for. He wants this and we’re going to get to him and take his belt and unify the division.”
Even though Vargas will be a massive underdog, Garcia feels pressure to perform. After all, the 28-year-old was heavily favored to top Mauricio Herrera in March 2014.
But it’s more than that. Garcia wants to do more than come away from the Spike-televised fight with a win and no injuries. He wants a statement.
“I have to go in there and look impressive and I have to go in there and knock this guy out. I have to go in there and prepare like it’s a big fight because it is.
I can’t have a shaky performance. The pressure is on and I have to let this build into the next fight. I want to go in there and dominate the fight so I can go into the next fight with a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence.”
Danny Garcia: 'No matter who I fight, some fans will never be satisfied'
...?keep both around so that u don't be whipped on the 'nesia
dafuk?
