Danny Garcia outpoints Robert Guerrero to win vacant WBC welterweight title
LOS ANGELES - Robert Guerrero matched Danny Garcia's toughness and grit on Saturday night but was no match for his quickness and power, and that proved to be the difference as the pride of Philadelphia took home the vacant WBC welterweight belt with a unanimous decision victory against the rugged Guerrero before 12,052 fans at Staples Center.
Garcia (32-0, 18 KOs), whose nickname, "Swift," appeared apt in this one, won by the same score of 116-112 on all three scorecards, the announcement of which drew the wrath of the pro-Guerrero crowd. But it was ultimately the right decision. Paste BN Sports scored it 115-113 for Garcia and most on press row scored it even more one-sided for Garcia in the first boxing match on Fox since 1998.
"It was what I expected," Garcia said. "I knew I would win at least eight or nine rounds. I knew there would be some headbutts in there. He headbutted me so much on my forehead."
Guerrero, in his post-fight news conference, complained that Garcia hit him with low blows so often that his thighs were sore after the fight.
It was only Garcia's second fight at 147 pounds after leaving the junior welterweight division with two belts and big wins over Amir Khan and Lucas Matthysse. The WBC had decided a few weeks ago to put the belt Floyd Mayweather held when he retired last September up for grabs. The sanctioning body mandated that the winner must fight Khan, who has unsuccessfully chased fights with Mayweather and others for much of the last year while remaining mostly inactive.
"I'm back where I belong. I am now a two-division world champion," Garcia said.
Garcia's superb conditioning, quickness and boxing skills showed most during the middle rounds as he continually beat Guerrero to the draw, keeping the Gilroy, Calif., fighter off-balance with lightning-quick right hands and well-timed combinations.
"I was throwing my combinations, using my legs like my dad told me to do," Garcia said. "I knew he was going to come to fight. But I executed the gameplan we had worked on in training camp. My plan was to go out there and feel him out the first couple rounds, and then box him. We knew he would come strong at the end. We just had to stay composed and get the job done.
"I came here to do what I had to do and that's win the fight. I feel great."
Garcia said he thought his athleticism was the difference. "A lot of people don't know that I'm an athletic person. I can play a lot of sports. I can play basketball, baseball, football, I know all the fundamentals in all the sports. So I was just more athletic, that allowed me to get out of the way and get my combinations, throw my right hand and get out the way.
"He's a tough fighter. We knew he would come for 12 rounds."
Garcia also proved he could punch with authority while moving backward, as Guerrero (33-4-1, 18 KOs) stalked him much of the night but fell victim to quicker hands.
Garcia came out Thursday during the final news conference and said Guerrero's father/trainer's antics had "awakened the devil in me."
Guerrero, however, as has become his hallmark, fought right up until the final bell and made the 12th round one to remember, as he and Garcia went toe-to-toe for the full three minutes, much to the delight of the crowd. The fighter known as "The Ghost" climbed on the ropes after the final bell, believing he had pulled out the victory. He looked disappointed when the scores were announced.
"I want a rematch and that's it," Guerrero said. "Not one person out there thought Danny won but his team. I pressured him, I nailed him, busted his body up. I out-jabbed him.
"I thought I won the fight. The crowd thought I won the fight. It was a great fight. I am happy I'm healthy. I will be back. I thought I won the fight and I definitely want a rematch."
Garcia and his trainer father Angel indicated in the post-fight news conference that a rematch was highly unlikely, and also that the mandated matchup against Khan, who Garcia stopped in the fourth round in 2012, was far from a sure thing.
The fight seemed to change tenor in the sixth as Garcia's edge in quickness and power became obvious. Guerrero couldn't avoid many of the lightning-quick right hooks and well-placed combinations. Garcia's right hand continually found Guerrero's jaw, and they weren't just ordinary rights. They were vicious, thudding rights that Garcia threw, then jumped back to avoid any counter opportunity.
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Guerrero, 32, who has never been stopped, seemed to lose some steam on his punches as the fight moved into the later rounds. Garcia, meanwhile, in a nod to his conditioning, appeared quicker in the eighth round than the first.
Guerrero came out from the opening bell and got the partisan crowd riled up by craftily outboxing Garcia, making him miss and then countering.
The 27-year-old Garcia was coming off a ninth-round TKO of Paulie Malignaggi in August after winning a tough majority decision against Lamont Peterson in April.
"This is another fight that is going to make me a bigger star," Garcia said earlier this week.
After the win he said he was ready for whatever happens: "I'm the champion in there at 147 and the champion has to fight the best fighters. Whatever match gets made, I'm ready."
Guerrero had won both his previous fights at Staples Center by knockout, and had won his first world title there against Eric Aiken in 2006. He said coming in he was more motivated to fight an unbeaten opponent.
Though Guerrero had lost two of his last four fights, they came against two of the top fighters in the sport in Mayweather and Keith Thurman.
His most recent fight was a victory against Aron Martinez via controversial split decision last June. Martinez lost to Sammy Vasquez on the undercard.
(Photo of Garcia, left, and Guerrero, right, by Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo)