Danny Óscar García (born March 20, 1988) is an American professional boxer. He is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the unified WBA (Super), WBC, Ring magazine and lineal light welterweight titles between 2012 and 2015, and the WBC welterweight title from 2016 to 2017.
Video Danny García
Early life
García was born in North Philadelphia to a mother from Bayamón, Puerto Rico; and his father Ángel García, originally from Naguabo, Puerto Rico, who was also a boxer. Danny's father introduced him to boxing, taking him to Philadelphia's Harrowgate Boxing Club when he was ten years old, which was the minimum age allowed by local law for a minor to train. Ángel has since been Danny's primary boxing coach. Having been raised in the city with the second-largest Puerto Rican community in the United States, Danny identified with his heritage, stating early in his career the desire to become the "next great Puerto Rican fighter". García admired Boxing Hall of Famer Carlos Ortiz as his favorite boxer and considered Ortiz's fight against Lenny Matthews in Philadelphia among the most memorable he had ever witnessed. García finished his amateur career with 107 wins 13 losses.
Amateur highlights
- 2006 U.S. national champion
- 2005 Tammer Tournament champion
- 2005 Under-19 national champion
Maps Danny García
Professional career
Light welterweight
Early career
García made his professional debut on November 17, 2007, at the Borgata Hotel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey against Mike Denby. He opened up by throwing power shots, but it was a short right that sent Denby to the canvas. Another right put Denby down again in a neutral corner. García moved in for the knockout, and sent Denby down for the third and final time with a right-left combination. After the third knockdown, the referee waved the bout over. His next fight took place on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather, Jr.-Ricky Hatton superfight on December 8, 2007, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. García defeated Jesús Villareal by second-round technical knockout. On January 11, 2008, at the Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa in Cabazon, California, García defeated Marlo Córtez by second-round knockout. With precise accurate punches, he disabled Cortéz, dropping him with a left hook early in the second round, forcing the referee to stop the contest. On March 15, 2008, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, García fought Charles Wade. He utilized his speed and quickness to get close to Wade before blasting him with a left hook to knock him out.
In his fifth professional fight, García fought Guadalupe Díaz, on April 19, 2008, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. He hurt Díaz early in the fight with a barrage of punches. The referee was forced to stop the fight after Díaz was on wobbly legs. His next fight took place on May 3, 2008, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California against Julio Gamboa. García was in command of the fight, using his fast hands and good power to win by unanimous decision. On the undercard of the Bernard Hopkins-Kelly Pavlik fight for the world middleweight championship at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, García stopped Dean Nash by technical knockout after three knockdowns in the third round.
He survived a tough fight with Ashley Theophane in February 2010, coming away with a split-decision victory. García knocked out faded contender Mike Arnaoutis in four rounds later in the year. In his next contest held in April 2011, he defeated former lightweight titlist Nate Campbell. On August 15, 2011, García won the vacant NABO Jr. welterweight belt in Los Angeles fighting on the HBO PPV undercard of Hopkins vs. Dawson II, on a split decision over former champion Kendall Holt.
García vs. Morales I
It was announced that García would get his first world title opportunity, challenging Mexican legend and Ring Top 10 light welterweight, Érik Morales (52-7, 36 KOs) for the WBC super lightweight championship in another chapter of the infamous "Puerto Rico vs. Mexico" boxing rivalry. The fight took place on March 24, 2012 at the Reliant Arena in Houston, Texas. The fight was originally scheduled to take place on January 28, but was postponed because Morales had emergency gallbladder surgery. Morales came in two pounds over the contracted limit and was subsequently stripped by the WBC of his title. Thus, the title was only at stake for García. Morales was fined $50,000 ($25,000 per pound) which was given to García. Morales earned a $1 million purse, while García was due to make $175,000. This increased to $225,000 following the fines levied against Morales. 5,590 was announced as the attendance for the night. García began the fight slowly, which Morales used to his advantage and injured his nose. As the fight progressed, García gained control, scoring a knockdown in the eleventh round before receiving a unanimous decision in his favor. The scores granted by the judges were 118-111, 117-110 and 116-112 in favour of García. CompuBox statistics showed García landing 238 of 779 punches (31%), and Morales landing 164 of 547 shots (30%).
García vs. Khan
On 23 May 2012, ESPN announced that García would next fight against the British boxer Amir Khan for the WBA (Super) title. At the pre-fight press conference on 4 June, Khan and García's fathers got into a heated exchange resulting in both fighters promising to knock the other out on 14 July. At the time the fight was announced, WBC were unsure whether to sanction the fight, as García had a mandatory defence due against Ajose Olusegun. The fight was scheduled to take place on 14 July 2012, in Las Vegas. The fight was a title unification bout, as García's WBC title and Khan's WBA (Super) title were both on the line. Khan entered the fight as a heavy favorite, with betting odds at 1-7 in his favor.
Khan seemed the faster of the two early, but García pretty quickly found a way to catch many of Khan's punches and was clearly finding the range with his own. Khan won the first two rounds and could have been on his way to winning the third, but with twenty-nine seconds left in the round García countered a Khan combination with a left hook that caught Khan on the neck and dropped him to the canvas. Khan rose to his feet quickly but had been hurt by the punch, and referee Kenny Bayless took an extra few seconds after administering the standing eight count to make sure that Khan could continue. García resumed his attack and nearly finished off Khan, who was saved when the bell rang to end the round. Eight seconds into the fourth Khan, now on unsteady legs, could not withstand a barrage of punches from García, who was now taking control of the fight. García kept pounding away at Khan, who lost his balance and touched the canvas with his gloves, thus forcing Bayless to administer another standing eight count as a fighter is considered down once any body part of his other than his feet touch the ring after a punch. Khan tried to rally and stay in the fight, but with forty-eight seconds left in the fourth round García knocked him down for a third time. This time, Khan got up quickly, appeared to have recovered from the barrage and told Bayless he was okay to continue. Bayless, after considering Khan's position, decided that the champion had taken enough punishment and stopped the fight, awarding a technical knockout victory.
After the fight, Khan said, "It wasn't my night. I was coming in with my hands down and Danny took advantage of that. He countered very well against me." According to CompuBox stats, Khan landed 92 of 206 punches thrown (45%), with 46 jabs and 46 power shots landed. García landed 65 of his 216 thrown (30%), 60 of which were power shots. Khan earned $950,000, while García had a $520,000 purse. Nevada State Athletic Commission announced the fight generated a total gate of $426,152 from 3,147 tickets sold. The fight averaged 1.3 million viewers on HBO World Championship Boxing.
García vs. Morales II
On August 23, 2012 García agreed to fight Ring top 10 light welterweight, Érik Morales (52-8, 36 KOs) in a rematch. The fight was scheduled to take place on October 20, in Brooklyn. On October 19, it was revealed that Morales had tested positive for banned substance clenbuterol. This was part of a random drug test from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. It was said that the card would still take place. García decided to go ahead with the fight, where he would see a career-high $1 million purse. In front of 11,112 at the newly opened Barclays Center, García retained his WBC, WBA (Super) & The Ring title's by knocking out Morales with a thunderous left hook in the fourth round. García landed only 57 of 220 punches thrown (26%), but it was clear he was looking for an early win. After the fight, García said, "I showed him too much respect in the first fight. You see the first fight, I thought this fight would be more of a war. I never duck anybody. I fought Khan and no one gave me a chance. Keep lining them up and I'll knock them down."
García vs. Judah
On November 6, Golden Boy Promotions announced a deal had been reached for García to defend his world titles against former two-weigh champion Zab Judah (42-7, 29 KOs), which the Barclays Center being the front runners to host the event on January 19, 2013. The fight took place on Showtime. On December 1, the official press conference got heated up between Judah and Angel García, after Angel began insulted Judah over his previous losses and performances. Judah eventually stood up and shouted, "I have a lot of respect for his father but I won't be disrespected." On January 29, it was reported that García had suffered a rib injury, pushing the fight back to take place on April 27 instead. Judah was aiming to become the first ever four-time light welterweight world champion.
In front of an announced crowd of 13,048, García defeated Judah by unanimous decision (115-112, 114-112, 116-111). García earned $1.25 million, a career-high purse at the time, whilst Judah earned $300,000, García started the fight off strong landing body shots. García badly shook Judah in round 5 and it was believed the fight would come to an end in the next round. Although García was unable to finish the fight in the sixth round, he landed many clean shots and dominated the round. One judge scored the round 10-8 for García, although there was no official knockdowns. García eventually dropped Judah in round 8 following a straight right. After the fight, García said, "Regarding the bad blood: It's gone. It's a respect. As you can see, it's a lot of bad blood. I've got cuts, he has cuts. We came here and gave the people of Brooklyn a nice show." Both fighters were cut due to accidental clash of heads in the final round. Richard Schaefer stated García would likely meet the winner of the Peterson vs. Matthysse fight, which was scheduled to take place on May 18. Matthysse won the fight via knockout.
García vs. Matthysse
On July 18, 2013 it was confirmed that García would meet Argentine slugger Lucas Mattysse (34-2, 32 KOs) on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez superfight September 14, 2013 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. García was a 2-1 underdog going into the fight. With both fighters earning an undisclosed seven-figure purse, the fight would be one of the most expensive undercard fights in history.
García stood firm and fought a mature fight. Matthysse won several of the early rounds, putting heavy pressure on the champion by utilizing speed and punching power. In the middle rounds, Matthysse sustained an injury to his right eye from a García flinch, to which García targeted the eye throughout the remainder of the fight, subsequently taking the lead on the scorecards and closing the challengers eye. In the eleventh round Matthysse landed a punch that knocked out García's mouthpiece, but García turned the tables and knocked Matthysse down in the 11th round with a four-punch combination. García was docked a point in the final round for low blows, but the last round was very competitive with both champion and challenger trading big shots. García took the unanimous decision (115-111, 114-112 and 114-112), giving Matthysse his first decisive loss. This fight also clarified that García's chin is capable of taking big shots, as it was widely touted before the fight that García would not be able to absorb the huge punching power that Matthysse is famous for. With the victory, García won the vacant Lineal light welterweight title.
For beating Judah and Matthysse, García was named 2013 Boxer of the Year by Stiff Jab.
García vs. Herrera
An official press conference took place in February 2014 to announce García's next title defence, against veteran boxer Mauricio Herrera (20-3, 7 KOs). The fight was to be aired on Showtime and was the first fight for García in his parents homeland of Puerto Rico. The fight took place at Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez in Bayamón. García retained his titles in a disputed majority decision win over Herrera. The official scorecards read (114-114, 116-112, 116-112). Showtime commentators Al Bernstein, Paulie Malignaggi, and Steve Farhood scored the fight in favor of Herrera, but two judges scored it for García, with one card at draw. Herrera's jab consistently scored and he was viewed by onlookers as the slightly busier fighter. After the fight, García said about Herrera, "He's a crafty veteran. I know every time I step in the ring every contender I fight wants what I got. So they gonna train their heart out and give everything they got, so I expected that. He's a good fighter and it was a good challenge. I had to make adjustment and I'm a true champion." CompuBox Stats showed that García landed on 204 of 675 punches thrown (30%), while Herrera landed 221 of his 695 punches (32%). Herrera believed he won the fight. After four rounds, it was announced the scorecards were 40-36, 39-37 and 38-38 in favour of García. After eight rounds, two judges had García ahead at 78-74 and 77-75, whilst the third judge had it 77-75 for Herrera. According to Bobby Hunter, known for collecting scorecards, 70% of the media scored the fight in favour of Herrera.
García vs. Salka
On June 24, 2014 it was announced that García would fight lightweight contender Rod Salka (19-3, 3 KOs) at the Barclays Center on August 9 on a Showtime triple-header, which would also included Lamont Peterson vs. Edgar "El Chamaco" Santana. The plan was for García vs. Peterson, if both fighters were able to win their respected fights. García was criticized for choosing to fight Salka, as many believed it was mis-match. At the time, Salka was not ranked at light welterweight. The card also received negative press. ESPN's Teddy Atlas slammed the sanctioning bodies. The bout, which was originally announced as a 12 round fight, was dropped to a 10 rounder and included a catchweight of 142 pounds. No world titles were sanctioned for the fight. WBC president explained, as it was a voluntary and Salka was not ranked, they would not sanction the fight, however if García was to lose, the title would be declared vacant.
The fight proved to be a mis-match after García brutally knocked out Salka in round 4 with a left hook, ending the fight. In round 2, Salka was dropped, but beat the count. García pounded on Salka, eventually forcing him to take a knee for a second knockdown.
García said in relation to taking fight, "Fans last forever; boxing is a short-term career. I got to do what's best for my life and my career. You can be 70-years-old and a fan. I can only box for another 10 years. I got to do what's best for me."
García vs. Peterson
On January 14, 2015, NBC announced a partnership with Premier Boxing Champions to air premium fights on network television. It was announced that Danny García and Lamont Peterson would fight April 11, 2015 on NBC primetime. The fight was at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The highly anticipated bout between García and Peterson took place at a 143-pound catch weight and was a non-title bout. Both fighters had something to prove as García was coming off an extremely tough fight with Mauricio Herrera and Peterson was still reeling from a knockout loss to Lucas Matthysse in 2013.
In the early rounds Peterson was very defensive and attempted to frustrate García with his awkward style. García was the busier fighter the first four or five rounds throwing and landing more punches although having trouble landing clean punches on Peterson. Both boxers took turns setting the pace, García landing combinations and heavily to the body, Peterson jabbing and landing clean single power punches. Peterson's size and athleticism allowed him to stay in the fight even in the face of waves of serious García body blows. Peterson looked strong going into rounds 10, 11, 12, but gave away round ten completely. García maintained a steady attack in the last three rounds of the fight while Peterson began coming forward and throwing everything he had (possibly suspecting he was trailing). Despite a very strong showing by Peterson, García was awarded a majority decision by scores of 114-114, 115-113, 115-113. For the fight, García earned $1.5 million compared to Peterson, who earned a $1.2 million purse. CompuBox stats showed that both fighters stayed busy, with García landing 173 of 589 punches (29%), with Peterson more accurate, landing 170 of his 494 thrown (34%).
Welterweight
García vs. Malignaggi
On June 4, 2015 it was announced that García would make his welterweight debut against 34 year old former world champion Paulie Malignaggi (33-6, 7 KOs) at Barclays Center, Brooklyn in a Premier Boxing Champions fight shown on ESPN on August 1. Before a crowd of 7,237, García won the fight with a ninth round technical knockout at 2:22 of the round. García pushed the pace early, walking through Malignaggi's jab and firing to the head and body with both hands, particularly the right. Malignaggi was cut above his right eye by the third round and had a large welt beneath the right eye in the sixth, having been bludgeoned by several huge shots from García. Malignaggi was still taking a beating at the 2:22 mark of the ninth, when referee Arthur Mercante Jr. wrapped him in his arms to signal the end, beating Malignaggi's corner, which was about to throw in the towel. For the fight, García's purse was $1.25 million compared to Malignaggi's $550,000. At the time of stoppage, the three judges' scorecards read 79-73, 79-73 and 78-74 in favour of García. Following the fight, Malignaggi reflected on whether or not he would continue to fight after the defeat.
García vs. Guerrero
On November 24, 2015, it was announced that García would be facing Robert Guerrero on January 23, 2016 at Staples Center in Los Angeles in a PBC fight broadcast on FOX which was the first ever major PBC event to be broadcast on the network. García won by unanimous decision 116-112 scored by all judges becoming the new WBC welterweight champion. The attendance was announced 12,052 at the Staples Center. García celebrated in the ring after the fight with his daughter Philly and praised Guererro, "I'm excited. Guerrero is tough. No one has ever stopped him. He came to fight. He was in shape. I'm taking nothing away from him." García earned a base purse of $1.5 million, $300,000 more than Guererro.
García vs. Vargas
After holding out for a possible super fight with Floyd Mayweather, García announced his next fight would be against Colombian fringe contender Samuel Vargas (25-2-1, 13 KOs) at the Liacouras Center in Temple University's in Philadelphia on November 12. It was said that the fight would be a non-title, 10 round fight and would pave the way for a unification fight with Keith Thurman in 2017. This was the first time García fought in his hometown of Philadelphia since 2010. After dropping Vargas in round 2, the fight became one sided. García eventually forced the referee to stop the fight in round 7 following a barrage of punches which pinned Vargas against the ropes. Thurman was on commentator duty for the fight and entered the ring after the fight was over to engage a staredown and exchange of words with García.
García vs. Thurman
On October 25, Showtime announced several fights to take place towards the end of 2016 and early 2017. One of them was the much anticipated welterweight unification fight between García and fellow undefeated welterweight champion Keith Thurman (27-0, 22 KOs), who holds the WBA title. García defeated journeyman Samuel Vargas in a tune-up fight on November 12, which officially set up the fight for March 4, 2017 at the Barclays Center in New York City. Thurman chose not to have any tune-up and would fight García after a long 9 month rest. At a press conference on January 18, 2017 the fight was officially announced and it was said that it would be shown live on CBS. The conference got extremely heated, leading to Angel García standing up and shouting racial slurs towards Thurman.
García lost the fight on a split decision with the scorecards 116-112, 113-115 & 115-113 in favor of Thurman, making Thurman the unified welterweight world champion. Thurman started off as the aggressor hitting and moving back to avoid García's counter hooks. This was the case for the majority of the fight. García began coming forward through the middle rounds and push Thurman on the back foot. Thurman backed off the championship rounds believing he had a comfortable enough lead to win the fight. MC Jimmy Lennon Jr. gave García false hope that he had won the fight when he announced WBA before WBC, making García believe he had won. García spoke in the post fight interview believing he had a good case of winning the fight, "I thought I won, and I was pushing the fight, but it is what it is. He was trying to counter. I had to wait to find my spots." Compubox stats showed Thurman landed 147 of 570 punches thrown, a percentage of 26% and García landed 130 punches of his 434 thrown (30%). It was also reported that both fighters received a purse of $2 million a piece. The fight was attended by a boxing record of 16,533 at the Barclays Center. According to The Ring, the fight peaked at 5.1 million viewers, which was at the last three rounds. The fight averaged 3.74 million viewers. This was the first time since 1998 that a Saturday primetime boxing telecast drew that kind of audience. The entire card drew an average 3.1 million viewers.
García vs. Ríos
Due to Keith Thurman being sidelined for the remainder of 2017, on July 17 the WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told ESPN Deportes, that he would likely order a fight between the #1 ranked Shawn Porter (27-2-1, 17 KOs) and #2 García for the Interim WBC title. He also went on to state, if Porter or García declined to take part in the interim title fight, he would move on to the next highest available ranked fighter. At that time, Manny Pacquiao was #3, Jessie Vargas was #4 and Konstantin Ponomarev was ranked #5 by the WBC. A day later, Porter added fuel to the speculation when he called out García in a WWE-esque promo on social media, "I just heard that the WBC will ask Showtime Shawn Porter to fight another title eliminator. And they want me to fight none other than the cherry picker himself - Danny García. What I say to you Danny García - let's get it on," Porter claimed the ball was now in García's court.
According to reports on October 3, a deal was close to being made between García and former champion and WBC #15 Brandon Ríos (34-3-1, 25 KOs) to take place in December 2017. On December 15, it was reported a fight was close to being made to take place on February 17, 2018 in Las Vegas. The fight was confirmed a week later to take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Paradise, Nevada on Showtime. The last time García fought at Mandalay Bay, he knocked out Amir Khan to unify the light welterweight division in 2012. In January 2018, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman sanctioned the fight as a final eliminator for the WBC title. Sulaiman explained, "Champion Keith Thurman will return in a voluntary title defense, as he has recovered from his injury. Shawn Porter is the mandatory challenger, and Danny García will fight Brandon Ríos in a final elimination bout for the second mandatory due to the inactivity of Thurman." García boxed expertly in jabbing and countering Ríos on the move. The fight came to an end in round 9 with a 1-punch knockout in front of 6,240 fans in attendance. Ríos beat the 10 count, however referee Kenny Baylis stopped the fight. García set Ríos up with a perfect right hand counter that knocked him down on his back. Ríos landed some good shots in the 6th round, but was mostly being hit clean. At the time of stoppage, García was ahead by the scores 78-74, 79-73 and 79-73. After the fight, Shawn Porter jumped into the ring and tried calling out García. Showtime interviewer Jim Gray did not like this as he believed García deserved his moment and told Porter and his team to exit the ring. For the fight, García made $1.25 million and Ríos had a $500,000 purse. According to CompuBox, García landed 188 of 614 punches thrown (31%) and Ríos landed 109 of his 605 (18%). According to Nielsen Media Research, the fight averaged 516,000 viewers and peaked at 558,000 viewers on Showtime.
Honors and awards
He was named the 2013 Philadelphia Pro Athlete of the Year by the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association.
Professional boxing record
See also
- List of Puerto Rican boxing world champions
References
External links
- Professional boxing record for Danny García from BoxRec
- Danny García profile at Premier Boxing Champions
Source of article : Wikipedia
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