When the Junior Welterweight fight between Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse was first announced, many boxing fans expected two things:
- It would be a candidate for "Fight of the Year."
- It wouldn't last long.
As it turns out, only the first one proved true last night (Sat., Sept. 14, 2013) at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the undefeated underdog, Garcia, survived the Argentinian's legendary power, damaging his eye and landing a great many powerful hooks, winning on scores of 115-111 and 114-112 (twice).
To watch full "Garcia vs. Matthysse" co-main event video highlights online click here.
Even though he came out on the losing end of the fight, Matthysse's warrior spirit was fully evident -- at no point in the fight did he give up, throwing with murderous intent to the head and body to the final bell and even blasting out Garcia's mouthguard in the eleventh round. He never stopped moving forward and should be commended for his effort.
So now the question remains: What's next?
If I had it my way, I'd say rematch. Matthysse's eye swelling up and the bogus "knockdown" in the second-to-last round affected the outcome of the Showtime pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event match. Garcia's victory was 100 percent legitimate, but I'd simply like to see what would happen under different circumstances.
Should that fail to materialize, Garcia's options at 140 pounds are limited. The only real elite competition at the weight he hasn't already beaten is Lamont Peterson, whose blowout loss to Matthysse keeps him out of the running. Intriguing options like Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios sit on the opposite side of a promotional spat, making them unavailable at this time.
Two potential fights that do intrigue me, however, are Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Adrien Broner. The Mayweather fight is self-explanatory -- Garcia is a young, undefeated champion who just took out one of the most feared men in the sport. His left hook has the power to potentially lay out "Money."
It just makes sense.
Should Broner get past Marcos Maidana later this year, a fight between him and Garcia would also be a logical choice. It's not only stylistically intriguing, but plays into the "someone's '0' must go" storyline that boxing seems to love so much.
Plus, with the garbage Angel Garcia and Broner both spew, at least one of them would get shut up, which is a pleasing thought.
As for Matthysse, the Broner option is available for him, too, but I just can't see any other worthwhile fights at Junior Welterweight. At 147 pounds, though, fights with Robert Guerrero or Keith Thurman could be absolutely bonkers. No matter the case, I'll be eagerly anticipating when "The Machine" returns to the ring.
For complete "Mayweather vs. Canelo" results, including play-by-play of the entire televised main card, click here and here. And to check out a complete recap of the Showtime pay-per-view (PPV) under card click here.