Photo by David Becker/Getty Images North America
Earlier today, The Ring reported via Twitter that Golden Boy Promotions‘ CEO, Richard Schaefer has announced Danny Garcia’s (27-0, 16 KOs) next bout and opponent.
Schaefer: @DannySwift–@MauricioHerrera, @BronzeBomber–@MalikKingScott, juan lopez-Ponce De Leon, 3/15 in P.R., @SHOsports #boxing
— Michael, Doug or Lem (@ringmagazine) January 28, 2014
Garcia will be facing Mexican-American Mauricio Herrera (20-3, 7 KOs) in Puerto Rico on March 15 for the WBC Light Welterweight, WBA Super World Lightweight and The Ring titles–all held by Garcia.
Herrera is best known for his unanimous decision victory over Ruslan Provodnikov in 2011, and his exciting bout with Mike Alvarado in 2012.
Also on the card will be heavy-hitting fan favorite Deontay Wilder (30-0, 30 KOs) vs. the skillful boxer, Malik Scott (36-1-1, 13 KOs) in a Heavyweight battle.
Puerto Rican native Juan Manuel Lopez (33-3, 30 KOs) will be taking on Mexican Daniel Ponce De Leon (45-5, 35 KOs) in a rematch of their 2008 one-round thriller.
According to Schaefer (via RingTV.com), it has been Garcia’s wish to put on a show in Puerto Rico for quite some time.
For Danny Garcia, this is something that he has asked me about repeatedly for the past 12-to-18 months, and that’s to put on a show in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is very close and dear to his heart. Danny’s mom and dad were born in Puerto Rico.
Schaefer is already doing his best to play up a fight that very few people see as competitive, saying, “He [Herrera] knows a thing or two about being a spoiler as the man who beat Provodnikov, and Provodnikov came into the fight as the heavy favorite.”
The problem is that the bout versus Provodnikov was in 2011 and in those days the “Siberian Rocky” was a little known ESPN fighter, not the machine that stormed onto the scene last year.
Since then, Herrera has not done much to write home about, winning an eight-round fight in this last outing against Miguel Angel Huerta.
One thing is for sure, challenging for Garcia’s title in Puerto Rico will be a chance of a lifetime for Herrera. Whether he’s able to rise to the occasion remains to be seen.
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