Wednesday at his DSG Philadelphia Gym at Castor and Jasper Danny “Swift” Garcia held a press conference along with his father-trainer Angel Garcia. As usual, plenty of press and Channel 69 filming among others were there. When this writer arrived there was John DiSantis sitting next to Bernard Fernandez.
Garcia was late and here comes Angel out with the biggest Clown’s head one ever saw. If you know him he is quite a showman and does not shy away from controversy. I guess it takes one to know one except I’m not a showman.
On Sept 8th at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York, Garcia is looking to re-capture his WBC World Welterweight title when he meets former IBF World Welterweight champion Shawn “Showtime” Porter, 28-2-1 (17), of Las Vegas, NV for the vacant WBC title.
The title is vacant due to the fact Keith “One Time” Thurman, 28-0 (22), of Clearwater, FL, was stripped for 18 months of inactivity mostly due to an injury. He still holds the WBA Super World Welterweight title.
The following were questions and answers from Danny Garcia along with his comments without being questions:
“How did you see this fight coming out?”
Danny Garcia: I plan to knock him out.
“How do you feel about Tevin (American Idol) Farmer winning the title?”
Danny Garcia: I couldn’t be any happier. In his first fight he got robbed even when his opponent failed his drug test. Philly was without a champion for awhile and I plan to re-gain my title and be another Philly champ.
“Do you see any of the other Philly fighters winning titles?”
Danny Garcia: Jesse Hart comes to mind.
“What’s next after beating Porter?”
Danny Garcia: I want to unify by beating (Keith) Thurman who should have given me a rematch. Then move up to 154.
That’s when I chimed in “When you move up (Jaron) “Boots” (Ennis) will be taking over at 147″.
Danny Garcia: He’s great isn’t he? 21-0 (19) No. 1 USBA Contender.
“I learned how to set goals and now with money that I didn’t have when I was a kid. I used to go looking through the windows at things I couldn’t buy. I remember seeing a $150 shirt that I would have liked to have bought back then.”
“I never had a trophy or went on an airplane until I was boxing.”
Angel Garcia had this to say:
“I want Danny to be the first to give Thurman hell!!! We have a plan to beat him!”
“I learned business on the street. You can’t leave all your money in the bank. The bank could crash! You have to invest it. When Porter got into the ring at Danny’s last fight and wanted Danny he should know we are ready for anything!”
“It’s like in a plane Danny is the Captain and I am the co-Captain. The way Porter is shooting off his mouth tells you they lost the battle already!”
Danny and Angel Garcia are a team. Danny says little, he just smiles as Angel goes off! They are a complete team that works as father and son. It has been a rarity in boxing over the years.
Danny was 107-13 as an amateur winning the 2005 US Under 19 Championship and the 2006 US National Amateur Championship. He wanted to someday be a world champion and be the “next great Puerto Rican fighter!”
When Garcia won his first world title he defeated Erik “El Terrible” Morales, 52-7, of Ysidro, CA, for his WBC World Featherweight title at the Reliant Arena, in Houston Texas in March of 2012. Morales missed weight by 1/2 pound so he couldn’t retain his title if he won. Garcia’s promoter Oscar de La Hoya told Garcia he wasn’t happy with his performance. When Danny told me this I told him “well, Oscar and Morales are Mexicans and you are Puerto Rican.”
Garcia gave Morales a rematch and knocked him out in 4 rounds. Oscar didn’t have any criticism after that fight.
Danny’s second world title was when he won the vacant WBC Welterweight title as the No. 2 contender winning a lopsided decision over former Lightweight champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, 33-3-1, the No. 6 contender. When he tried to unify with WBA champion Keith “One Time” Thurman, 27-0, he lost a split decision in Las Vegas.