Danny Garcia Gets Past Samuel Vargas – Bring On Keith Thurman

By Jeffrey “Italian Medallion” Cellini (At Ringside)

In the main event for Spike TV’s Premiere Boxing Champions, from the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA, WBC World Welterweight champion Danny “Swift” Garcia, 33-0, 19 KO’s easily defeated Samuel Vargas, 25-3-1, 13 KO’s by 7th round technical knockout (non-title fight) in front of his hometown fans. With NBA basketball legend and Hall-of-Famer Allen Iverson in the house to show the champion support, Garcia did not disappoint his friend. ”Swift”, who dominated the bout from the opening bell, hurt Vargas several times throughout the contest with his counterpunching, and scored a knockdown with a big right hand in the second round.

The end came at the 2:27 mark of the seventh round when Danny Garcia backed up Vargas against the ropes with several left jabs and left hooks, and landing a couple of big overhand rights, prompting the referee to stop the fight when Vargas appeared finished.

With WBA Welterweight champion Keith Thurman sitting at ringside doing commentary for the telecast, Garcia gave a good performance, but looked rusty at times throughout the contest. Danny Garcia exchanged words after the fight with his future opponent. Immediately after Garcia’s victory, Keith Thurman entered the ring and was jointly interviewed with Danny Garcia. Then, the two champions engaged in a heated exchange of words in which Garcia ended by yelling, “I’m going to F* you up. The two champions will meet in March to unify the welterweight titles.

In the co-main event, junior middleweight prospect Jarrett Hurd, 19-0, 13 KO’s scored a technical knockout in the sixth round over Jojo Dan, 35-4, 18 KO’s. Hurd, from Accokeek, MD, hurt his Canadian counterpart throughout the fight but was never able to knockdown his opponent, despite the obvious difference in size. Hurd appeared briefly stunned near the end of the third round, before landing a blatant low blow (deducted one point). The end came at the 1:08 mark in the sixth round, when Dan’s corner asked the referee to stop the fight after their fighter was hurt by some big punches from Hurd.

Former lightweight world champion Javier Fortuna, 31-1-1, 22 KO’s defeated Omar Douglas, 17-1, 12 KO’s by ten-round unanimous decision. Fortuna, who was dropped by a left hook in the first round, dictated the action throughout the fight with his inside fighting and counterpunching. Douglas, from Wilmington, DE, seemed unable to handle the southpaw’s quickness and speed at times. Two of the judges scored the bout 96-93, while the third scored the contest 95-94.
Super featherweight prospect Titus Williams, 7-0, 2 KO’s won a 6th round controversial majority decision over Antonio Dubose, 8-2-1, 2 KO’s. Dubose, from Philadelphia, seemed to win most of the exchanges throughout the fight, and seemed to hurt Williams several times. The judge’s scores, to the disappointment of the crowd, were 59-56, 58-55, and 57-57.

Middleweight prospect Kyrone Davis, 11-1, 5 KO’s stopped Carlos Gabriel Ozan, 12-2, 4 KO’s in the third round of their scheduled eight-round contest. Davis, from Wilmington, DE, scored knockdowns in the first and third rounds against his Argentinian counterpart. The end came at the :41 mark of the third when Davis knocked Ozan down with a left hook-right hand – left hook combination. Ozan beat the count by was still unable to keep his balance after getting to his feet, prompting the referee to halt the fight.
Super lightweight prospect and Philadelphia native, Milton Santiago, 16-0, 3 KO’s defeated Claudio Rosendo, 28-17-4, 13 KO’s by eight-round unanimous decision. Santiago hurt his spirited opponent from Argentina in the 5th and 6th rounds with right hands. All three judges scored the bout 80-72.

Super featherweight and Philadelphia-native Thomas Velasquez, 6-0, 4 KO’s easily defeated the game Raul Chirino, 7-4, 3 KO’s by four-round unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 40-36.
Lightweight prospect and hometown favorite Jeffrey Torres, 2-0, 1 KO overpowered Joseph Serrano (pro debut) and easily won a four-round unanimous decision. Two judges scored the bout 40-34, while the third judge scored the bout 40-36.

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