SONAHR: April 12, 2015 – Rising star Danny Garcia remains undefeated at 30-0 (17 KOs), as he retained his WBC, WBA ?Super? and Ring magazine junior-welterweight titles after facing IBF champion Lamont Peterson at Brooklyn?s Barclay Center on Saturday. But the Philadelphia warrior didn?t have an easy time of it. He won by a close majority decision, but had to endure a late-round surge by Peterson, who had been so defense-minded during the early rounds that the rafters echoed with the singing of boo-birds. By the end of the fight, however, the crowd was cheering.
Although neither Peterson nor Garcia has as yet reached the pound-for-pound Top 10 level, they are both excellent fighters, and matches between contestants of their quality constitute the lifeblood of a sport that sometimes borders on the anemic.
Garcia is an aggressive boxer-puncher, and Peterson is a defensive specialist, but he?s not exactly feather-fisted. Going in, the bout looked to be intriguing ? provided that the fighters? styles meshed well once the opening bell clanged.
During the first few rounds, however, the mesh looked more like a mess as Peterson seemed to be hell-bent on staying out of Garcia?s range. Garcia?s nickname is ?Swift,? but he wasn?t quick enough to consistently cut the ring off on Peterson. Danny was out-landing his opponent, but Peterson was apparently more concerned with not getting hit than with scoring punches of his own. Peterson?s reluctance was the source of the crowd?s increasing ire.
That ire may have lit a fire in Peterson?s belly. Or maybe his corner told him he needed to give the judges a reason to allow him enough points to, you know, win a round or two. At any rate, Lamont became a different fighter during the final third of the bout. He began to exchange heavily with Garcia. That was what Garcia had indicated he wanted during those early rounds that resembled a track meet more than a boxing match. Be careful what you wish for, Danny. It turned out that Peterson had enough pop in his punches to damage one of Garcia?s eyes, and sweep the judges scorecards in the final two rounds.
Peterson?s go-for-broke rally pleased the crowd, but it wasn?t enough to make up for the early rounds Garcia had banked. Nobody screamed ?Robbery!? when the decision was announced. Still, if Peterson had exchanged more during the first few rounds, he might have gotten the verdict. Then again, his plan could have been to frustrate and tire Garcia in the early going, then pour it on in the later rounds. If that was the case, the plan almost worked. But ?almost? doesn?t count in boxing, and the closest Peterson came to winning was a draw in one judge?s opinion.
Even though both contestants held title belts going into their contest, this was not a unification bout. They agreed to fight at a catchweight of 143 lbs, three above the junior-welterweight limit of 140 and four below the welterweight limit of 147. These non-title catchweight bouts between belt-holders are problematic. On the one hand, they can provide high-quality matchups. On the other, they do nothing to unify the major championships. And, given that the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO aren?t going away, the rare instances of partial or full unification are the best fight fans can hope for.
In the meantime, Garcia continues to shine, and Peterson is still a major player in the 140-lb division. Perhaps a rematch is in order.
