By: Sean Crose
Danny Garcia returned to the ring on Saturday night to face Jose Benavidez Jr after essentially being out of action since he lost to welterweight powerhouse Errol Spence about a year and a half ago. The match will be broadcast live on Showtime from Brooklyn’s Barclay Center, a kinda/sorta home court for Garcia, a Philadelphia production. What makes this match so remarkable, aside from Garcia’s return from a significant absence, is the fact that Garcia is currently advancing to the youth middle division for the first time in his career. That can be a challenge for the 34-year-old.
For Benavidez, Saturday’s game presented a second chance. The man hasn’t won a fight since 2018. In fact, Benavidez has only fought once since being stopped by Terence Crawford in October of that year. Furthermore, Benavidez’s comeback match last November saw him take on Francisco Torres in a draw. Make no mistake about it, both men need a win tonight. Of course, the focus will be on former world player Garcia, but Benavidez is entering with the 2.5-inch height advantage. He is also four years younger than his lauded rival.
It was Garcia, however, who had been facing someone from the contemporary boxing scene for over ten years. Erik Morales. Paulie Malignaggi. Amir Khan. Lucas Mattysse. Zab Judah. Robert Guerrero. Lamont Peterson. These may not be all-time greats, but they’re impressive names nonetheless. Furthermore, Garcia’s only losses were Keith Thurman, Spence and Shawn Porter respectively… and the battle between Porter and Thurman was pretty close. So there’s reason for many to expect Garcia to leave the ring tonight with another win added to his 36-3 record. However, if Benavidez can undo the sadness – and that’s not unthinkable – the Phoenix-born boxer will improve his own record to 28-1-1. Saturday’s match will be a scheduled 12th round.
Heavyweight Adam Kownacki will also be on the card tonight, bringing his 20-2 record to the top against Ali Eren Demirezen 16-1 in a scheduled 10th round. Weightlifter Gary Anutanne Russell will also be in the ring, as the 15-0 climber takes on Rances Barthelemy 29-1-1 in a 10-round battle. The full TV card begins airing at 9 p.m. ET tonight on Showtime.
