Danny Garcia could not have been surprised when Robert Guerrero stormed him at the opening bell and began firing punches. It’s Guerrero’s modus operandi and also what he promised to do.
But after falling behind early, the unbeaten Garcia made an adjustment and he wound up cruising to a victory over Robert Guerrero Saturday at Staples Center in Los Angeles to claim the WBC welterweight title that Floyd Mayweather vacated when he retired.
Garcia fought much of the night backing up, but it doesn’t mean he wasn’t offensive. He raked Guerrero with straight right hands and left hooks, punishing Guerrero consistently with clean, hard shots. He simple stepped to his left to create punching range and after getting the distance, scored consistently.
“I knew Guerrero was a warrior and would come to fight,” said Garcia, who is now 32-0 after winning a world title in a second weight class. “I feel I won the fight clearly and the judges felt the same way.”
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Danny Garcia (L) celebrates his win over Robert Guerrero in a WBC welterweight title fight with his father, Angel ? Garcia, who also held the WBC super lightweight title, did everything but stop Guerrero over the second half of the bout. He landed 163 of the 496 punches he threw, the majority of them coming down the stretch.
Guerrero showed little head movement or boxing skill and simply waded straight in at Garcia, who after some early troubles figured out the style and teed off on Guerrero.
Mayweather’s retirement opened the division up, and Garcia claimed one of the belts. Keith Thurman holds the WBA tilte, and he’ll meet Shawn Porter in what should be an outstanding fight on March 12. Kell Brook owns the IBF title.
Garcia didn’t call anyone out, but said he wants a big fight next.
“I want to fight the best; Danny Garcia always wants to fight the best,” he said. “I came in as an underdog and I showed I could stand toe-to-toe with a great fighter and win the fight.”
