By Ian S Palmer
Undefeated Danny Garcia of Philadelphia will be taking on Lamont Peterson of Washington, D.C. this Saturday might, April 11. The 12-round welterweight bout will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and will be shown in North America on free network TV on NBC. Fans in the UK can catch the action live on BoxNation.
Garcia enters the ring with a perfect record of 29-0 with 17 Kos while Peterson is 33-2-1 and has 17 Kos to his name. This is an excellent matchup of junior welterweights, but the bout will be fought at a catch weight of 143 lbs. Garcia is the reigning WBC and WBA Junior Welterweight Champion while Peterson is the IBF king. And while this fight should unify the titles, nobody’s belt is on the line. Either way, this is one the best showdowns in the division regardless if the titles are up for grabs or not.
Peterson’s two losses came against slugger Lucas Matthysse of Argentina when he was blown out in the third round and to Timothy Bradley by a 12-round unanimous decision. He also has a 10-round majority draw with Victor Ortiz and won a highly-controversial split decision over Amir Khan of England a few years ago in a fight many believe Khan won. Peterson also failed a drug test after beating Khan, but the two never met in a rematch. Garcia stopped Khan in the fourth round and beat Matthysse by a unanimous decision. He also has wins over Erik Morales (twice) Zab Judah and a controversial decision over Mauricio Herrera.
The 31-year-old Peterson stands 5’9″ tall and has a 72-inch reach. Peterson has good hand speed and footwork and decent power. He established a stiff jab and has a sharp right hand, but his weakness is his chin. Garcia is 32 years old and is a half-inch shorter than Peterson and also has a four-inch reach disadvantage with a wingspan of 68 inches. He’s a boxer puncher and doesn’t mind trading shots with the best of them. But this is something Peterson will need to try and avoid.
Both boxers have fought some Grade A opponents in their careers with Garcia faring better against them. Peterson will need to use his speed, reach advantage and skills to keep Garcia at a safe distance, but also needs to land enough clean shots to impress the judges. However, he has to get in and out before Garcia can nail him with solid power shots. It might take Garcia a few rounds to time Peterson and figure him out, but when he does he better hope he’s not too far behind on the scorecards.
Prediction
The fans may feel they’re being cheated here as this isn’t a unification but, they need to realize this is a real fight, not just an exhibition match. Both boxers have good skills and power, but Garcia has the better chin and that good be a big factor here. Peterson has been on the deck before and Garcia may try to go after him early. If he doesn’t, Peterson could grab the majority of the early rounds and gain some confidence. But since Garcia doesn’t have to worry about making the 140 lb limit, look for him to catch up to Peterson and sooner or later and stop him.
