By Ian S Palmer
Undefeated WBA and WBC Junior Welterweight champion Danny Garcia of Philadelphia will return to the ring at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York this Saturday, August 9 when meets Rod Salka of Bunola, Pennsylvania. While boxing fans are glad to see Garcia return to action they’re disappointed in his opponent and the fact that the fight is a 10-round non-title bout. Both the WBC and WBA refused to sanction the contest as a title fight and it’s surprising the Showtime Network approved of Salka as a worthy opponent. Showtime will air the fight live in America with Super Channel showing it in Canada and BoxNation in Britain.
Garcia is basically in the prime of his career and it’s an odd choice to risk his reputation by taking this bout. He has a lot to lose, but nothing to gain by fighting Salka. Boxing fans were hoping to see him take on a legitimate contender in the division. The 26-year-old Garcia will climb the ring with a perfect record of 28-0 with 16 Kos while the 31-year-old Salka is 19-3 with 3 Kos to his name. Garcia stands at 5-feet-8.5-inches with a 68.5-inch reach while Salka is 5-foot-7 tall with a 67-inch reach. They’re close in experience since Garcia has fought 164 professional rounds and Salka has fought 144 rounds.
Garcia’s camp has negotiated for the bout to be held at a catch-weight of 142 lbs, which is two pounds over the junior welterweight limit. This will give him another decided advantage since Salka has fought most of his career as a 135 lb lightweight. With just three knockouts in his 22 contests it’s easy to see that Salka doesn’t have much power at all. Garcia isn’t known as a one-punch Ko artist, but he has good power and is capable of putting anyone in the division to sleep.
Garcia won the WBC crown in 2012 over fading Mexican star Erik Morales and then made it two in a row over him by taking Morales out in their rematch later the same year. In between those two bouts Garcia added the WBA title by stopping England’s Amir Khan in the fourth round. Garcia remained undefeated last year by beating American Zab Judah and Lucas Matthysse of Argentina by unanimous decisions. However, many fans felt he lost his last bout in April when he won a majority decision against Mauricio Herrera of California.
But instead of giving Herrera a rematch or taking on a top-10 contender such as Adrien Broner Garcia will be facing Salka. Fans can’t blame Salka for his record or taking the fight since this is a perfect opportunity to make some money as well as a name for himself in the boxing world. He has everything to gain by winning this fight except Garcia’s championship belts. Salka’s three losses have all come via decisions, with two of them being majority decisions.
This is a huge step up in class for Salka and on paper it looks like a complete mismatch. Garcia’s best weapon is his left hook. He has good skills and a high boxing IQ and has controlled aggression in the ring. Salka is pretty mobile and has good defensive skills. He likes to move in and land his shots and then quickly get out of harm’s way. It’s possible that Garcia underestimates his opponent in this fight and isn’t very motivated due to Salka anonymity in the boxing world. Salka sees this as a once-in-a-lifetime chance and should be hungry.
Prediction
If Garcia takes this fight too lightly and looks upon it as an exhibition match he could be in for a shock. Salka doesn’t have the power to hurt him, but he could win enough rounds to make things interesting. However, the more likely scenario will see Garcia walk through Salka’s punches and either stop him some time along the way or take a comfortable decision.
