NEW YORK – Rod Salka’s corner men rushed the ring’s steps Saturday night, ready to throw in the towel and halt the fight against Danny Garcia. Their fighter already had been knocked down twice by the Juniata Park champion’s power shots.
But the corner did not move quickly enough and the referee did not see the motion to stop the fight. Garcia connected with a dynamite counter left, knocking out Salka in the second round and bringing ringside doctors into the ring at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The win puts Garcia (29-0, 17 knockouts) back on track after a disappointing showing in March against Mauricio Herrera.
Garcia and Salka (19-4) originally were scheduled to fight 12 rounds for Garcia’s pair of light-welterweight titles. The World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association refused to sanction it as a title bout because they did not have Salka, 31, in their rankings.
The bout was rescheduled for 10 rounds, the titles were not to be contended, and the fighters could weigh two pounds more than the 140-pound light-welterweight limit. Press materials were rewritten, and promotional posters were edited. Garcia, 26, received an onslaught on social media as fans questioned why he would accept the bout.
His father and trainer, Angel Garcia, said this past week that his son was not cherry-picking his opponents. The fight, he said, was scheduled as a pit stop on the way to Garcia’s eventual arrival at the 147-pound welterweight class.
Lamont Peterson, a possible future foe for Garcia, earned a technical knockout in the 10th round to defend his IBF light-welterweight title against Edgar Santana on the undercard.
Peterson, a 30-year-old from Washington, controlled the fight with his powerful right hand and crafty footwork. He constantly changed angles, allowing him to blindside Santana.
Peterson (33-2-1, 17 KOs) said Saturday night that he wanted a shot at Garcia. Garcia said he will fight once more this year, and that makes a match with Peterson likely.
