By Norm Frauenheim-
It’s a fight without all the belts and whistles. That’s what makes it interesting. There’s no confusion about what’s at stake in the Danny Garcia-Jose Benavidez Jr. bout Saturday night in Brooklyn.
The acronym guys, belts in one hand and a sanctioning fee in the other, won’t be there. Cast aside the promises from promoters who can’t keep them. It’s just Garcia and Benavidez in a lonely fight to stay at the table.
For the loser, there’s an exit from the circus. For the winner, there’s another chance at a good payday. It is simple, a relief from a long summer full of muddled signs that it’s business as usual.
An example: A much bigger fight, Canelo Alvarez-Gennadiy Golovkin 3, approaches (September 17), yet there’s talk from promoter Eddie Hearn that a Canelo rematch with Dmitry Bivol might not be as immediate as it appeared to be after Bivol’s upset of Canelo in May. Belts and whistles, shoots and ladders. Confusion and chaos prevail.
But there’s no confusion surrounding Garcia-Benavidez at Barclays (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT). In a busier summer, it might have been a fight for a major undercard. But the clarity that defines this one makes it a main event. Both fighters bring faded names to the ring.
Garcia is a former junior-welterweight and welterweight champion. Benavidez is a former celebrated prospect still remembered for being the youngest national champion (16-years old) in the Golden Gloves fabled history. Garcia is fighting to further his claim on legacy with a bid at a third division title, junior-middle. Benavidez is fighting to re-discover a prodigy’s promise.
Each is motivated by different pasts. But the story line is as clear as it is dramatic. Both are formers. Only one stays current.
Garcia’s accomplished resume makes him the favorite. So, too, does the site. The Philadelphia fighter is popular at Barclays.
“I’m just excited to be back at Barclays,’’ Garcia said Thursday at the final news conference. “…The Danny Garcia Show is back.’’
In his turn at the bully pulpit, Benavidez had a predictable counter.
“This is the end of The Danny Garcia Show,’’ Benavidez said.
Now 30, Benavidez understands the magnitude of the challenge that awaits him. He also seems to understand that Garcia, his trash-talking dad/trainer Angel and much of the boxing media see him as a steppingstone. Garcia’s resume suggests he’ll bury Benavidez. Garcia is predicting a seventh-round stoppage of Benavidez, who grew up in a tough Phoenix neighborhood on the city’s sprawling westside.
“Fourteen of Danny’s last 19 opponents have been world champions,’’ said Showtime sports executive Stephen Espinoza, who called Garcia’s resume Hall-of-Fame worthy.
But a resume can be one-dimensional. Garcia, the best 140-pound fighter in his generation about a decade ago, was vulnerable at welterweight. His three losses have all been at 147 pounds – Keith Thurman by split decision in March 2017, Shawn Porter by unanimous decision in September 2018 and Errol Spence Jr. also by unanimous decision in December 2020.
At 5-foot-10 ½, Benavidez is taller than Garcia, who is listed at 5-8. With a 71-inch reach, Benavidez , who is four years younger than Garcia, also has a two-and-a-half-inch advantage. Garcia reach is listed at 68 ½. Give or take, Benavidez has measurements comparable to Thurman, Porter and Spence. That resurrects an old question – also an old line – about Garcia. His stardom was stopped at welterweight. There’s a reason for weight classes.
Add Benavidez’ resume, which includes one – and only one – reason to think he can win. To wit: Nobody has fought Terence Crawford tougher than Benavidez, who lost by stoppage with 18 seconds left in a contentious fight in October 2018 in front of a roaring crowd in Omaha, Crawford’s hometown.
The unbeaten Crawford, who stopped Porter in November, might be able to further his claim on pound-for-pound supremacy in a potential showdown with Spence. Benavidez, who has fought only once since Crawford, looked terrible in a draw with unknown Argentina Emanuel Torres last November.
A hometown Phoenix crowd booed him. The crowd was right, Benavidez says. He calls his performance “trash.’’ He says it almost as if he is promising to emerge from the ashes the way the bird — the mythical Phoenix – does in his hometown’s official logo.
Says here, he has a real chance in the right fight at the right time.
