Danny Garcia upheld a long tradition when he shocked Amir Khan with a three-knockdown, fourth round pasting in Las Vegas on Saturday night ? the tradition of the ?Philadelphia fighter.?
Even though Garcia went into the fight as WBC junior-welterweight belt-holder, and Khan was WBA champion only by virtue of having his title restored after his December conqueror, Lamont Peterson, tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance, Danny was the underdog.
Not only that; Garcia was a substitute. Khan was supposed to have faced Peterson in a rematch. After the testing debacle, though, the fight was scrapped and the title Peterson won was returned to Khan. Even though Garcia was undefeated and had decisioned Erik Morales earlier this year, Garcia was thought to be nothing more than a high-profile stepping-stone for Khan.
Well, the stepping-stone turned out to be a boulder. And Khan?s iffy chin ran smack-dab into it, leaving him a rubber-legged ex-champion who has some serious thinking to do about his future.
If Khan?s chin was as strong as his heart and bravado, he would be poised to take over the No. 1 pound-for-pound spot from Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, who serves as something of a mentor for Amir at Freddie Roach?s gym. But Khan?s beard is his weakness, and unlike chinny heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko, he hasn?t developed reliable techniques to consistently compensate for that flaw.
There?s another factor that accounts for Khan?s downfall Saturday night. Danny Garcia hails from Philadelphia ? that?s Pennsylvania, not Mississippi. A knowing smile will lift the corners of a hard-core fight fan?s mouth when the term ?Philadelphia fighter? is mentioned. Whether they were natives of the ?City of Brotherly Love,? or were born elsewhere but fought out of Philly during their careers, Philadelphia fighters have always been a breed apart ? a brotherhood of gloved gladiators who neither give nor ask for quarter in the ring, even when they?re just sparring. Indeed, sometimes their gym wars are more violent than their paid engagements.
Some people define a Philadelphia fighter in terms of Joe Frazier, a relentless left-hooker who always marched forward into enemy fire. But some Philly ringsters, such as Tyrone Everett, George Benton, Willie ?The Worm? Monroe, and Bobby ?Boogaloo? Watts, were slick stylists. Bennie Briscoe was a blue-collar brawler. Gypsy Joe Harris was a perpetual-motion machine. Matthew Saad Muhammad specialized in come-from-behind thrillers. Old-time light-heavyweight champions Tommy Loughran and Philadelphia Jack O?Brien were master boxers who did not hit hard, but were hard to hit.
Despite their different styles, these and other Philadelphia fighters had one thing in common: a warrior spirit that impelled them to leave everything they had in the ring; to always give the fans what they paid for; to keep on trying no matter what.
Amir Khan wasn?t ready for that spirit.
It was thought for a while that welterweight prospect Mike Jones would be the next great Philadelphia fighter. But Jones was knocked out last month by the ancient Randall Bailey. With his points win over a faded but still competitive Morales and his spectacular kayo of Khan, Garcia is the Philadelphia fighter of today. Other top 140-pounders, such as Juan Manuel Marquez, Lucas Matthysse and Brandon Rios, might be more talented than the new WBA/WBC champion. Then again, so was Khan, and look what happened to him.
Long live the Philadelphia fighter!
Full disclosure: I lived in a suburb of Philadelphia during the 1950s and ?60s, and followed the careers of every boxer in the city from Leotis Martin to Stan ?Kitten? Hayward.
Charles R. Saunders is the author of several books including Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers in the Maritimes from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace, as well as the Imaro series of fantasy/adventure novels. Considered by many to be one of the leading authorities on boxing in Canada, he is the current Vice-President of Boxing for the Society of North American Sports Historians and Researchers. His award-winning novel, Damballa, which centers around a fictional heavyweight title bout, is available at Amazon.com.
