By: Hans Themistode
It was simply not the night Maurice Hooker had expected.
With the 32-year-old looking to make a big splash on his welterweight debut, Hooker managed to stop rising contender Vergil Ortiz Jr.’s hype train. Fort Worth, Texas in 2021.
Although Ortiz Jr is known as a giant boxer, Hooker still manages to fight fire, often meeting his younger and stronger opponents in the middle of the ring. Although he had his moments, Hooker ultimately lost by losing in the seventh round but with a hand injury as the main reason.
Even though he’s spending his time on the sidelines, Hooker plans to not only get back into action soon, but in a perfect world he knows exactly who he’s going to face next. .
“I’d love to fight Danny Garcia but I think he’s turning 154 now,” Hooker said in an interview with BoxingInsider.com. “If he is 147, I would love to make that happen. I would love to fight Danny Garcia. He’s a good fighter, he’s one of the best at 140 and it’s a fight we could have. ”
Garcia, the former two-division world champion, has not left the ring since losing a decisive defeat to uniformweight champion Errol Spence Jr in December 2020. After a failed attempt in one another world title, Garcia gave a lot of consideration to the weight promotion. With Philadelphia reluctant to hang up his gloves before winning gold in the third weight class, a move to 154 pounds was in front of him.
However, if Garcia is willing to put his plans on hold and continue to compete in the heavyweight division, Hooker will put his name first if Garcia is in need of an opponent at 147 pounds.
