Had it not been for a twist of fate, or a rather talented Lucas Matthysse, we would have seen Lamont Peterson take on Danny Garcia nearly 18 months ago. Instead, Peterson endured a crushing defeat at the hands of Matthysse, while Garcia outclassed him and earned more respect from boxing fans alike.
This Saturday, Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC delivers once again. There is no title on the line for this fight, but there is much at stake for both contenders. Since the loss to Matthysse, Peterson has been making noticeable strides, scoring back-to-back victories against Dierry Jean and Edgar Santana. He needs this victory moving forward in the effort to revitalize his career and be taken seriously again in his division.
Garcia aspires to move up in weight, but he still believes he needs to prove himself, telling RingTV.com he’s taking the fight with Peterson seriously.
“I’m ready to make a statement with this (Peterson) fight, but I’m not ready to say because I beat [Matthysse] I’ll have an easy time with Peterson,” Garcia said. “I know I have to go out there and dominate. I also know this is a different fighter and a different situation I’ll be faced with. I’ll be ready for whatever.”
His confidence aside, Garcia certainly does have something to prove. Although his past victories against elite fighters like Amir Khan, Zab Judah and Matthysse brought recognition to the Philadelphia native, his last two wins over Rod Salka and Mauricio Herrera attracted the wrong kind of attention.
Herrera seemed to give Garcia more trouble than expected; some even believe Herrera was robbed of a victory. And then there was Salka, undoubtedly easy work for Garcia, but it did nothing to reaffirm why Garcia should be considered the next big star in boxing.
Behind the name Danny Garcia is the question, “So what?” He will need to answer that question when he faces Peterson in the ring to again remind us why he warrants the respect of an elite fighter. We may get to see some action in this fight, but prepare to mostly see a mental war as Peterson and Garcia try to figure each other out.
Only one of these guys can be the better man, and neither can be overlooked.
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Tale of the Tape
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An older, slightly more seasoned Lamont Peterson has something to work with coming into this fight. He has a significantly longer arm reach than Danny Garcia (almost four inches longer), which will help him tremendously should he choose to box on the outside.
Peterson is only slight taller than Garcia, but has a long enough torso where he will need to watch out for jabs and other punches to the body.
Garcia will have to find a way around Peterson’s generous reach advantage, and find his way to the body. The tape only gives us a small scope of what to expect in this fight.
I see the outcome of this bout depending on whom can outbox whom and which man’s style prevails the most. Peterson boasts a bit more experience than Garcia, having boxed over 200 rounds, compared to Garcia’s 166.
We’ll see if the quality of those rounds have given Peterson the wisdom he needs to break down Garcia, or if Garcia has the tools to undermine Peterson’s boxing finesse.
Main Storylines
Photo by Seth Wenig/AP
Fortunately neither Lamont Peterson nor Danny Garcia are taking each other lightly, though each man is feeling equally confident. This hopefully means that each of them is coming to the ring feeling their best. So no matter the outcome of the fight, there will be no excuses.
“I feel good, I feel strong. I’m making my way up to 147 a little bit at a time. I’m ready to go,” Garcia said at his open media day workout.
Garcia’s father and trainer, Angel Garcia echoes Danny’s response, insisting that they haven’t changed much in the camp to prepare. As far as Peterson goes, when asked to rank him on a scale of one to 10, Angel had a snarky, but predictable response.
“What can I say? Zero,” he said, followed by laughter. “I can’t rank him because he hasn’t fought Danny.” All jokes aside, he gave Peterson some politically correct “respect” for “putting the gloves on.”
Garcia is confident in his ability to win, and what he has to do to secure that victory. “I have to be smart in the ring. I have to go in there and be Danny Garcia. I’m here because I’m a smart fighter. Everyone knows that. I have power. I’m going to find my opening and capitalize on his mistakes,” said Garcia.
Without sharing too much intel, Peterson assured us during his media day workout he would avoid the mistakes other fighters have made in the ring with Garcia. “We have a plan to stop [the countering] and be able to get to the fight I want to fight.”
One controversy surrounding the fight is the catch weight at 143 pounds. Many speculate this was a strategic movie by Garcia’s camp to make a fight without putting his belts on the line at 140.
Peterson explained his take on the catch weight demand made by Garcia’s team:
[otw_shortcode_quote border=”bordered” border_style=”bordered”]“I’d rather have had it at 147. I mean, if we’re going to do 143, we might as well have gone up to welterweight and fought there. I didn’t understand it but I wasn’t going to complain about it…I didn’t want to not make the fight happen.”[/otw_shortcode_quote]
Though it certainly is suspect the fight was made at a catch weight, Peterson is right in that the most important thing is the fight is finally happening. Peterson exudes quiet confidence about getting a victory on Saturday, despite the less than ideal weight requirement. Maybe Garcia didn’t want to risk putting his belts on the line, but if he is as confident as he claims, it shouldn’t be an issue for him.
Strengths for Each Man
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Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia are similar in that neither does one thing exceptionally well, but both men have some how managed to score unlikely victories over tough opponents.
Peterson’s strength in this fight will be his boxing skills. He isn’t known to be a power puncher or score a high percentage of knockouts, but he sure can put his punches together once he’s figured out enough about his opponent.
If Peterson can do this successfully, he can easily score a decision over Garcia. In order to do so, it is important that Peterson uses his nearly four-inch reach advantage to keep Garcia on the outside when he wants to, and decide when to put combinations together.
Peterson is at his best when he’s walking his opponent down, throwing quick, unsettling combinations to frustrate the hell out of the other guy.
Perhaps this plan won’t lead to a knockout, but if his opponent is so frustrated he can’t get any punches off, that could work too. A knockout isn’t the best goal for Peterson in his fight—he needs to use his head, not lose it.
Photo by Amanda Kwok/Showtime
Picking out strengths for Garcia is not the easiest task. He’s not a formless fighter; maybe borderline mediocre is a better description. You can’t put your finger on what makes him good, but you also can’t deny he has talent with all the top fighters he’s managed to defeat.
There are a few things that may work for Garcia against Peterson, including his power, decent chin and patience in the earlier rounds.
Peterson is patient too, so we may see the fight get off to a slow start. Garcia tends to be more reactive than aggressive in fights, which he might get away with in the earlier rounds.
Garcia’s “lucky left hook” will also be an asset if he has the horseshoe facing up, knocks on wood, finds a four-leaf clover, etc. (You get the point).
Weaknesses for Each Man
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Lamont Peterson would not be wise to start this fight situated on the inside. His chin is a liability, and Danny Garcia has a knack for letting the left hook devastate against sloppy defense.
Peterson also uses a lot of leg movement, which can work to his advantage as long he’s still being the aggressor and not running from his opponent.
Peterson calls himself a slow starter, but in this fight activity level is everything, especially if he expects to win a decision.
Being too patient can actually work to his disadvantage. He can’t give Garcia any breathing room to out-work or out-box him; he definitely cannot allow Garcia to impose his will.
Photo by Amanda Kwok
Garcia’s reactivity may not mesh well with Peterson’s patience. Peterson can use that to make Garcia fight the fight he wants to, instead of sticking to his own game plan.
Though they call him “Swift,” the speed of Garcia’s punches do not live up to the name. If Peterson is faster, busier, and has better timing, keeping Garcia at an arm’s length (literally), it will make the job much easier.
One thing Garcia does have is power, but only if he can use it. Garcia doesn’t necessarily sit on his punches unless he has the time and space to do so. If Peterson makes Garcia move around, getting off those power shots could be a difficult task.
Winner and Why
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Despite my sound advice that echoes through this preview, Lamont Peterson wants this to be a fight. How do I know this? Because he said, “I don’t think they’re taking me lightly. At the end of the day, Garcia knows this is a fight.”
So there we have it—this is going to be a fight, and Peterson is not a logical choice as a winner. There are simply too many holes and vulnerabilities in his game to choose him with complete confidence.
Peterson and Garcia have many common opponents such as Amir Khan, Lucas Matthysse and Kendall Holt, which make this prediction more complex and interesting. However, there are many other variables based off skill set and fighting style alone that give Danny Garcia the edge over Peterson.
Garcia may be average (or euphemistically, “well-rounded”), but he brings enough to the table to have a decent chance of beating Peterson at his own game. He has the ability to drop Peterson, and to press him out when the fight becomes competitive. I believe Peterson will up his aggression level, which may lead to reckless behavior.
However it goes down, expect a competitive fight between Garcia and Peterson. This PBC fight is long overdue—and it is not one you want to miss.
