NOTE: The following article was done immediately after Garcia’s huge win over Lucas Matthysse on Sept. 14th., as the latin champ from Philadelphia plots his next move. You can’t have that big of a win, on “that” undercard, and go backwards. So while Floyd’s trying to rob the public by fighting a guy Danny “whacked”, Danny would fight Floyd in a heartbeat. Don’t believe me? Ask his father.
T@z
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
(I)
F*ck with your soul like ether (Will) Teach you the king you know you (Not) “God’s son”, across the belly (Lose) I prove you lost already
Nas, Ether (circa 2001)
Then he followed it up with “brace yourself for the main event/yall impatiently waiting…” during the song’s intro. After the dust has cleared, its pretty clear (to me at least) that this was “The One” we were waiting for.
Turns out September 14th birthday boy Nas (which also happened to be my birthday too), or “Scarface”, as he referenced himself in the article prior, had an answer for Jay-Z afterall (whom ?God?s Son? referenced as Manolo). There?s something to be said for a man who can take a bigger hit than one he can deliver, and still do more damage and emerge victorious.
And that is exactly what Danny Garcia did this past weekend in his instant classic of a 12 round UD win over Lucas Matthysse.
All summer long, the reigning and defending WBC/WBA super lightweight champion kept hearing about the greatest hits of his fearsome challenger.
He was captured seemingly spellbound and terrified by the force of nature that was Matthysse in May, while witnessing the execution of Lamont Peterson. Never mind his victory over Zab Judah, which now seemed an afterthought. He was made to be nothing more than cannon fodder by a public and media mesmerized by the Argentinean juggernaut.
It absolutely nauseated him.
“I’m the champion of the world, I’m not scared of anyone,” said Garcia, 25. “If you can make it out of Philadelphia, you can make it anywhere.”
Like the 11th round.
After 10 rounds that were about as dramatic as they come (featuring the punishing forward assault of Matthysse, and Garcia?s uncanny resilience and boxing acumen), came ?the moment?.
?BoOm!!?
The ?hit? we somehow knew Lucas Matthysse would produce, went through Danny Garcia like music with plenty of bass in a cheap speaker. It was the kind of strike that I expected to launch Garcia into orbit- and it almost did. There isn?t a 140lb fighter in the world, who could?ve survived that type of bone-breaking shot (which sent his mouthpiece flying through the MGM Grand Arena) other than Garcia. Plus he came back to turn the tables and drop Matthysse.
Guess what? Danny Garcia is a tough, tough (insert very strong expletive right here. ?That one?)
Prior to landing a shot in the 7th round which caused the right eye of Matthysse to swell to the point where it was almost shut, Garcia was in a pitched, losing battle with Matthysse. But throughout this fight he stuck to a very brave gameplan, one that required him to wade into the teeth of the Matthysse wheelhouse and dial up punishing shots to body (low ones as well). The plan was to get ?inside? him, while taking him [outside of] any comfort zone. The champion did this with a measured defiance that was as beautiful to watch as it was violent.
It was the type of response one would expect from Tony Montana, who would scoff at the very notion of being vanquished by any version of Manolo. He would probably lose his mind were he to hear about how badly he was supposed to be beaten by this guy. ?Manolo my ass!? an angry Tony would scream. ??You got the wroooong one my friend! Take this! How bout some of this?! Take that you &%$#@…?
Or as Nas would probably sing to Danny after the fight?
?You woke up this morning- and got yourself a gun.?
UPDATE
As of this writing today, Team Mayweather is undecided about who he’ll face next. There’s plenty of rumors and Twitter banter, but nothing concrete. But the video I posted here, Danny Garcia’s post-fight press conference after beating the brakes off Amir Khan, is. If Danny (as his father Angel so “not-so-eloquently” pointed out) can see Khan as not even worthy of rematch, then how can Floyd Mayweather see Khan as a viable opponent? He can’t- and you shouldn’t either. If Mayweather and his brain trust do not settle on Pacquiao as his next opponent, then “Swift” should be at the top of the list of candidates to face Floyd next. He’s undefeated, he’s an Al Haymon/Showtime fighter, and he’s fresh off of a major win over one of the most feared fighters on the planet. And oh, he did it on the undercard of Floyd’s PPV cash register breaking bout with Canelo. Cut the s%$t.
