Danny Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs) vs. Ivan Redkach (23-5-1, 18 KOs) was thought to be nothing but a tune-up contest for Garcia as he prepared for a possible matchup with either unified champion Errol Spence Jr. or Manny Pacquiao.
Redkach heard the noise during the entire build up of the contest and promised to be a spoiler. Some of us believed him. Redkach came into each press conference sporting a different color hairstyle and spewing talk of a knockout.
Throughout his career, Redkach was never known as an elite boxer, Garcia on the other hand has always been amongst the best and he proved why again.
As soon as the opening bell rang at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Redkach came forward like he always does trying to apply pressure but the moment he felt the power of Garcia, he immediately changed his game plan and wanted to box.
There wasn’t much drama at any point during the contest. Garcia controlled much of it and landed a few big shots but nothing that would have had Redkach in huge trouble.
All in all it was a really good boxing performance by Garcia but it was a bit of a letdown that he did not go out there and get the stoppage victory.
Following the contest, Garcia revealed the reason for his shortcoming in terms of the stoppage.
“I just lacked the energy during the later rounds for some reason,” said Garcia during his post fight press conference. “I’m not sure what it was but I just didn’t feel explosive like I normally do.”
That lack of explosion wasn’t a big deal for Garcia on this night but with his next opponent supposedly coming against one of the very best fighters in the Welterweight division, Garcia will need to find his explosive style once again.
The contest may not have given the fans the sort of action that they were hoping for but it certainly did not lack in any drama. During the 8th round of a bout that Garcia was clearly dominating, Redkach decided to pull out his ultimate weapon. While the two men were in the clinch, Redkach decided to bite Garcia on the shoulder.
“He yelled Mike Tyson and then he bit me,” said Garcia.
The bite wasn’t nearly as egregious as the one that Mike Tyson pulled off against Evander Holyfield but it was still surprising to say the least.
Final Grade For Garcia: A
Some people will criticize Danny Garcia for the performance he had but he boxed beautifully and made it look easy against albeit, a limited opponent.
With nine months out of the ring and facing only the third south paw of his career, this was exactly the sort of performance that Garcia needed.
