Screenshot by Round By Round Boxing
On Saturday, March 15, 2014, Danny Garcia defeated Mauricio Herrera in a scrappy 12-round decision in front of a sold-out crowd at the Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
Coming off of a dominant performance over Lucas Matthysse, the Philadelphia native was set to please a raucous crowd, in what was supposed to be a stellar homecoming to his father’s/trainers homeland, but Herrera had other plans.
Throughout the fight, Herrera bothered his Puerto Rican counterpart, pecking at the champs body and head with a consistent flow of jabs, never allowing Garcia to take control of the fight or regain his previous form.
Ultimately, Garcia put together enough firepower in the later rounds to pull away and capture his 28th victory, preventing what could have been a disastrous outcome for the heavy favorite.
Garcia landed 150 to Herrera’s 82 power punches according to Sho Stats, deeming him worthy enough for the judges to decide in his favor.
@SHOStats #GarciaHerrera #Boxing pic.twitter.com/ABdpsrVSR8
— RoundByRound Boxing (@RBRBoxing) March 16, 2014
After his unimpressive victory, Garcia will look to move up in weight to 147 pounds and chase undefeated superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr., in what would be the pinnacle of his career.
Garcia will try to bounce back after his less than stellar performance in his debut at 147 pounds. Luis Collazo’s name has invariably been in the forefront of possible contenders for this event, as he was in attendance for Garcia’s fight against Herrera in what is possibly promotional foreshadowing.
Collazo would be a logical opponent as his rough style could ease Garcia’s transition to Welterweight, allowing the counterpuncher to get in rhythm.
In added intrigue, Collazo is also of Puerto Rican descent, lending the fight another layer of excitement, as Richard Schaefer has already hinted a second homecoming for Garcia in the future.
Photo by Action Images
A rematch with Amir Khan could also be in the works for Garcia, but that would be decided after the outcome of Mayweather’s May 3 fight with Marcos Maidana as Khan is also eyeing a crack at the pound-for-pound king.
Adrien Broner, Paulie Malinaggi, Marcos Maidana and even Manny Pacquiao have all been names in the mix for Garcia’s Welterweight debut.
As Saturday’s victory is now in the books, Garcia must look forward to take his first step on the welterweight ladder in search of that illustrious battle against boxing’s elite money team.
Header screenshot by Round By Round Boxing
