About 120 seconds into the Erislandy Lara-Danny Garcia WBA middleweight title fight, a theme began to appear. Or rather was heard. A chorus of boos rained on the fighters as the bout unfolded to a throaty disapproval that did not stop for the next eight rounds.
Lara made a third successful defense of the WBA middleweight title, which was fought at a 157-pound catchweight, dropping and then stopping Garcia for the first time in his career in the ninth round on the Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga PBC on Prime pay-per-view card before a sellout crowd of 20,312 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
“The punches I was landing were hurting him,” Lara said. “That punch that ended the fight was a big shot. I felt that I boxed beautifully. It was a work of art, like a Picasso. I negated everything Danny had. He’s a great fighter and a Hall of Famer just like me.
“I used lateral movement with a long jab to land my big shots, just like you learn at the Cuban school of boxing. I’m ready for the next challenge. I’m here to stay. I have a lot of boxing left in me.”
CompuBox stats revealed Garcia only landed 33 punches, while Lara landed a mere 63 punches. According to CompuBox, Lara (31-3-3, 19 knockouts) landed more jabs than power punches (37/26), but his last power shot knocked Garcia down at the end of the ninth round.
This marked Lara’s fourth-straight stoppage victory.
Of the 18 rounds combined between the 36-year-old, former two-division titlist Garcia, and the 41-year-old Cuban expatriate southpaw Lara, they landed double figure punches in a scant four rounds.
Garcia (37-4, 21 KOs) was coming off a career-high 26-month layoff.
It showed.
“I’m okay,” Garcia said. “I came off a two-year layoff and tried to be great, and it wasn’t my night. No excuses. I didn’t think the layoff would affect me like that, but there’s no excuses. I couldn’t find my rhythm. He had a strong jab and was controlling the distance well.
“At the end of the day my dad (Angel) is always gonna do what’s best for me. I tried to conquer a third division and I came up short. I’ve been at the top of the game for a long time, I take this on the chin like a true champion.”
And then Garcia apologized to his fans and the T-Mobile Arena crowd.
This was supposed to be a difficult test for Lara, The Ring’s No. 4-rated middleweight. He agreed to take on Garcia at the 157-pound catchweight, which seemingly could have been more difficult for Lara to come down to than it was for Garcia to come up.
It did not look like it.
The two closed the first round to boos, though it was evident Lara was going to use his 7-inch reach advantage (75½ inches to Garcia’s 68½ inches). He poked at Garcia’s midsection, trying to lure Garcia to punch so he could counter.
Near the end of the second, Lara started pressing Garcia more, again amidst a spattering of boos. Referee Thomas Taylor could be heard in the background telling the fighters, “Watch the feet guys, watch the feet.”
What little Lara did land appeared to dab a reddish hue on Garcia’s face. Garcia, meanwhile, was not able to do anything. He threw eight punches and did not land any in the second round.
With 1:16 left in the third, Lara finally connected on the first substantial shot of the fight. Inside the last minute, the fans for a third-straight round showed their displeasure over the tactical approach each fighter was taking. Near the end of the third, Thomas let the ringside officials know Garcia received an accidental headbutt.
Nothing went on in the fourth, either. The fight was turning into a sedative for a mass audience. When Garcia returned to his corner, Angel Garcia, Danny’s father and trainer, kept asking Danny, “Are you okay, are you okay?”
Midway through the fifth, Garcia tried a quick combination, although reluctantly. Garcia was hesitant, unsure what to do. Lara poked and pecked, and as Garcia continued to do nothing. Lara did slightly more.
Through five, it was easy to see Lara pitching a shutout.
After the sixth, Angel suspected something was wrong, asking Danny repeatedly, “Are you okay, are you okay?” Danny’s corner, sensing the fight getting more out of hand, implored their fighter to push Lara and make him fight.
Garcia, meanwhile, continued to do nothing but stand there. He seemed resigned to make this possibly his last fight, since all the fight of his illustrious career seemed gone.
Lara was content on staying outside and jabbing, keeping at a safe distance and making the crowd do anything but pay attention to the fight, wishing for the main event to arrive as quickly as possible—if they were still awake.
In the waning seconds of the ninth round, Lara ended it himself. He caught Garcia with what looked like a left jab to the face that knocked Garcia down for the first time in his career—and possibly for the last time.
When Garcia returned to his corner, Angel saw enough. He motioned with his hand across his throat, that was it.
When Angel was asked what was next for Danny, Angel said, “It’s up to Danny. Whatever he wants to do, I’m okay with it.”
With stable finances, a new promotional company and several businesses and real estate holdings, retirement may not be a bad option for the future hall of famer from Philadelphia.
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JSantoliquito [twitter.com]
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