Those who like mismatches won?t want to miss Saturday?s tripleheader from Brooklyn?s Barclays Center?
Boxing is the theater of the unexpected, even on Showtime, and anything can happen when two men step in the ring. But the results of some fights seem almost preordained and no amount of ballyhoo can change the inevitable.
Those who like mismatches won?t want to miss Saturday?s tripleheader from Brooklyn?s Barclays Center.
In the main event, WBA/WBC junior welterweight champion Danny ?Swift? Garcia (28-0, 16 KOs), the top 10 pound-for-pound claimant from Philadelphia, fights unknown, unheralded, and unranked Rod Salka (19-3, 3 KOs), from Bunola, Pennsylvania, in a non-title affair.
?To me it doesn?t even matter,? said Garcia, ?title fight or not, because at the end of the day it?s my show. I?m going to put up a great performance. I?m going to go out there and give the fans a great fight. Don?t worry about it not being a title fight because it?s still a fight.?
However good that sounds, it doesn?t explain why Garcia, in his pugilistic prime, is fighting a fighter no one has ever heard of.
When ESPN?s Teddy Atlas was asked by Todd Grisham if he could explain why Garcia is fighting Salka, he said, ?Can anyone say Al Haymon??
As if to justify Teddy?s jibe, Garcia said on a recent conference call, ?You know, I don?t pick my opponents. My manager Al Haymon does. And I never go against him. He picked the Khan fight, he picked the Matthysse fight, he picked the Zab Judah fight, he picked the Herrera fight, he picked all my fights. I never question him about his decisions. I just accept the fight.?
Atlas continued, ?What is the sense of having ratings, when you don?t live up to your own rules? It?s the reason why the sport I love, the sport you folks at home love, has no respect, no credibility.?
There are many reasons why boxing is denied respect and lacks credibility, but what are we to make of Danny Garcia? He looked fantastic defeating Lucas Matthysse in Sept. 2102. Unfortunately he looked dreadful against Mauricio Herrera in his last bout, despite being awarded a questionable decision.
Perhaps because of the Herrera bout, during which he had a bad night or was exposed, perhaps because it?s the dog days of summer, Garcia is being matched against a soft touch. All fighters are entitled to an occasional easy night. But those of us who yearn for competitive fights cannot in good conscience promote this bout. By contrast, those who enjoy watching one man pummel another have something to look forward to this weekend.
The co-main event features IBF junior welterweight champion Lamont Peterson (32-2-1, 16 KOs), hailing from the nation?s capital, defending his title against Spanish Harlem?s Edgar Santana (29-4, 20 KOs). The 35-year-old Santana is better known that Salka, but incrementally. He was a hot New York prospect who ran afoul of the law and is trying to punch his way back into contention while there?s still time.
Santana hits hard, but he?s nowhere near the caliber of Peterson. Like the Garcia-Salka fight, Peterson vs. Santana is another Mismatch Made in Heaven.
When the aforementioned favorites dispose of their opponents, an almost foregone conclusion, they?ll presumably fight each other next.
The third televised fight of the night is between Brooklyn?s own Danny Jacobs (27-1, 24 KOs) and Jarrod Fletcher (18-1, 10 KOs), from Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia, for the vacant WBA World middleweight title (as opposed to the WBA Super World middleweight title held by Gennady Golovkin).
Compared to Salka and Santana, Fletcher is a live underdog, but he?s going to have to be more alive than ever if he hopes to defeat Jacobs on his home turf. Jacobs? backstory is inspirational and will be used, as it has been used in the past, to help build the gate. After he defeats Fletcher, probably by early stoppage, he may be the next man in line to meet and greet the typhoon called Triple G.
