Unnecessary roughness, is it? This is boxing, not girls? softball. There should be no such thing as ?unnecessary roughness?…
?You can?t handle the truth!??A Few Good Men
Too soon to tell if welterweight Clarence Booth is ?The Truth,? but it?s certain that Javier Garcia won?t be able to handle him.
The two are meeting this Saturday, November 1, for a scheduled six rounds at Coliseo Hector Sola Bezares in Caguas, Puerto Rico.
One of Keith Thurman?s regular sparring partners, Booth was recently signed by one-time Manager of the Year, Pat Lynch, who says, ?I am extremely happy to have signed Clarence. I have been very impressed from what I have seen of him and I look forward to working with him as I see he has a very bright future.?
?I am grateful to be with Pat,? says the father of four. ?For him to reach out to me is huge.?
Booth, 27, who fights out of St. Petersburg, Florida, turned pro in 2011 (8-1, 5 KOs). He most recently fought in June, beating Jonathan Perez by unanimous decision. His only loss to date came courtesy of Cletus Seldin, who won by controversial unanimous decision in September 2011. ?The Hebrew Hammer? was deducted a point in the second round for ?unnecessary roughness.?
Unnecessary roughness, is it? Was Joe Gans deducted a point for what he did to Battling Nelson in ?06? Tony Galento for what he did to Lou Nova in ?39? Fritzie Zivic when he fought Al Bummy Davis in ?40? Or Sandy Saddler in his fight with Willie Pep in ?51? This is boxing, not girls? softball, and there should be no such thing as?dearie me??unnecessary roughness.?
A Puerto Rican, 32-year-old Garcia turned pro in 2007, but didn?t fight between 2011 and 2013. He?s racked up a record of six wins, two by knockout, five losses, three by knockout, one draw, and one no contest. He most recently fought in April, losing to Prichard Colon by third-round TKO, his first fight since 2010, when he was kayoed by Fernando Torres in the third. Garcia last won in 2009, stopping Celestino Rodriguez by second-round TKO.
A last-minute opponent, Garcia?s favorite-son status won?t help him any. I don?t know if the Truth will set Garcia free, but I do know he?ll stop him no later than the second.
