Danny Garcia – Robert Guerrero Under the Magnify Glass

By Andrew “Drew The Picture” Hames

Danny “Swift” Garcia looks to follow up his previously dominant performance against Paulie Malignaggi in a PBC On Fox showdown with former 2-division world champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero this upcoming Saturday night, in what may be less than a highly anticipated bout at the moment on paper, but stylistically could result in a fairly action-packed bout in the ring. At the risk of sounding superstitious, while we shouldn’t believe in ghosts, I’m not entirely sure we should “not believe in ghosts” under these circumstances, or at least not to believe that the ghosts of surprisingly competitive fights might not return to its normal paranormal form and haunt the boxing ring…

Were we to set the clocks back to 2013, this bout may have been highly anticipated… Guerrero would’ve been only one fight removed from having worked his way up to being a mandatory challenger to Floyd Mayweather, JR.’s WBC welterweight title, previously having been ranked #9 on Ring Magazine’s P4P list after having jumped two weight classes to win two impressive bouts over then unbeaten, top-10 ranked welterweight Selycuk Aydin and former WBC Champion Andre Berto, the latter of the affairs being among the nominees for the 2012 Fighter Of The Year award… There was indeed a brief, fleeting time when “The Ghost” did lurk around the welterweight division as a potentially malevolent force….

Danny Garcia would go on that year to have what may rank as his most “Swift” performance, convincingly defending his perceivably undeserved junior welterweight title and unbeaten record against then rising Argentine destroyer Lucas Matthysse, who many predicted would stop Garcia in the fight going in. Garcia would pull away wide late in the fight, even scoring a knockdown entirely route to his biggest career victory, one that also catapulted him to superstar status in the sport, having taken place on the under-card of what was then the highest-grossing PPV event in boxing history, Mayweather-Cabell. Danny’s name was suddenly even being mentioned on ESPN’s Sportscenter thereafter, a surefire way for a boxer to know he’s reached superstar status, especially since boxing isn’t even regarded as a mainstream sport to be debated by commentators like Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless. Had these two met at this point of their careers, on respective rises, better recent performances and the commonality of having either headlined or co-headlined on Floyd PPV’s recently, this may have been a highly anticipated matchup….

Instead of happening around its most opportunist time however, the fight is taking place here in early 2016, with both fighters having a fair share of question marks and skepticism regarding their more recent fights, although Danny maintains his unbeaten record. Guerrero’s career has arguably taken a tremendous downfall ever since being outclassed in a one-sided loss to the former P4P Champion Mayweather. Since then, he’s went life-and-death in another candidate for a Fight Of The Year in a unanimous decision win against the largely unheralded Yoshihiro Kamegui, was put down in another action-packed but ultimately one-sided loss to rising welterweight Keith Thurman on the debut of the Premiere Boxing Champions series, and won a controversial decision over another unheralded opponent on PBC in Aaron Martinez, in a fight where he suffered a disturbing-looking knockdown in the process. While still 2-1 in his last 3 bouts and 33-3-1, 18 KO’s all together, it certainly appears that Guerrero’s best days are behind him, and “The Ghosts” of his own thrilling wars that made him such a PBC favorite in the first place may have come back to haunt him…

Danny is coming off a clear and convincing stoppage victory over current European champion and former 2-division champion Paulie Malignaggi in Danny’s welterweight debut. It was a very impressive performance, but Paulie is in his mid-30’s, has spent much more time ringside than in an actual boxing ring in recent years, and was a fairly small and relatively light-punching welterweight to begin with, although with a world class jab and seasoned sickness. Danny’s previous performances were badly littered with controversy, appearing to have won what can only be described as “marketing decision” victories over Mauricio Herrera and former IBF junior welterweight champion Lamont Peterson, squeezing in between a dominant KO victory over unheralded and undersized Rod Salka, which perhaps drew up more controversy than the Herrera and Peterson scorecards. It’s led many to the belief that the Lucas Matthysse victory in 2013 was Danny’s last and only signature performance…

This is part of the reason I anticipate a much more spirited performance from both combatants may take place Saturday, although Danny has widely been accepted as the decisive favorite. Both fighters are at somewhat of a crossroads in terms of their public appeal, are in the position of kicking off the year for the PBC series, and, due to the WBC’s decision to forego the proposed welterweight tournament to designate Floyd’s former titles, there will be a WBC title hanging in the balance. Add Guerrero’s size, penchant for dirty infighting, the general lack of infighting Danny displayed against Herrera and Peterson, and the heavy heart Guerrero constantly fights with having his former cancer patient wife ringside, and I expect that both fighters will be looking at this as an opportunity to convince the boxing public that they’re still the warriors they were once perceived to be. Danny has the pressure of meeting public expectations by dominating a veteran welterweight fighter and former 2-division champion. Guerrero has the pressure of proving he still can compete with the elites, and the incentive of a WBC title as a bargaining chip for at least one more decent payday if he can’t. Don’t be surprised if the “Ghosts” of both fighters decide to “exercise their demons”…

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