DALLAS — Danny Garcia's resume as an elite fighter is probably one of the best in boxing. Garcia has won titles in two different weight divisions, fought at least 12 current or former champions and continues to fight at a high level at the age of 32.
Saturday night, the Philadelphia fighter will face WBC and IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence at AT&T Stadium on a Fox pay-per-view card.
"I feel like he's a perfect opponent for me," said Spence, a DeSoto, Texas, native. "To take a lesser opponent in a comeback fight I can beat easily, win easily, I wanted to push myself. I knew I had to be 100 percent for this and train hard and give my all because Danny is a former world champion and he's been in the ring with other champions and the guys in my division."
Spence didn't want an easy fight coming off a yearlong layoff after a car accident left him with severe bruising to numerous joints and missing teeth.
Spence (26-0, 21 knockouts) is continuing with plans to have major pay-per-view fights with possibly Manny Pacquiao or Terence Crawford, when his promotional contract ends with Top Rank.
Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs) stands in the way of all this and he doesn't mind it.
"I've been an underdog my whole career," Garcia said. "I'm used to playing that role. I just have to go in there and be myself. I have to believe in myself 100 percent and fight round by round. I'm going to show what a true champion is made of."
Garcia's own resume was questioned at times during his career following bouts against lesser fighters such as Ivan Redkach and Rod Salka.
But Garcia fought the great Erik Morales twice, he was a huge underdog before earning a TKO win over Amir Khan, he beat Brooklyn's own Zab Judah, in Brooklyn. He also earned a majority decision over Lamont Peterson and was an underdog before earning a unanimous decision win over Lucas Matthysse.
In 2018, Garcia lost unanimous decision to Shawn Porter for the vacant WBC welterweight title.
Spence would take that belt from Porter with a split decision victory last year.
"I saw some holes in his game and I knew it would be a good opportunity to become champion again," Garcia said. "These type of fights bring out the best in Danny Garcia. They give me the extra motivation that I need and that's why I wanted it."
Spence must overcome the jitters of fighting again after a horrific accident that almost ended his career. Spence is naturally the bigger fighter and whether he maintains that knockout power following the accident is uncertain. Garcia is an underdog for a reason but he's never hid from a challenge such as the one Spence is presenting.
It's part of the reason why he decided to fight Spence in his hometown. A Garcia upset, proves once again why he's so dangerous to meet, but at the same time, it's another reminder that one more loss could push him in a different category.
"This time around, we're not going to leave it in the judges' hands," Garcia's father/trainer Angel Garcia said. "We chose to go fight him in Dallas. Danny made that call. At the end of the day, Danny just has to go in there and do his thing."
