By Ian S Palmer
Southpaw Errol Spence Jr. of Long Island, New York will be returning to the ring for the first time since his auto accident this weekend when he faces Danny Garcia of Philadelphia. Spence will be putting his putting his IBF and WBC World Welterweight Titles on the line against the former champion in Arlington, Texas. The 12-rounder can be seen live in North America on pay-per-view while those in the UK can catch it on Premier Sports. This is Spence’s fifth defence of the IBF crown while he won the WBC belt in September, 2019 with a split decision over Shawn Porter. Garcia last fought in Jan uary when he beat Ivan Redkach via a 12-round unanimous decision.
Spence won the IBF title in May, 2017 when he stopped former champion Kell Brook in England in the 11th round. He defended it against Lamont Peterson after seven rounds in January of 2018 and then stopped Carlos Ocampo in the first before beating Mikey Garcia by unanimous decision and then edging Porter. The 30-year-old year-old champ will enter the ring with a perfect record of 26-0 with 21 Kos and has gone the distance in his last two fights.
Spence stepped up in class for the first time when meeting Chris Algieri in April of 2016 after previously beating opponents such as Phil Lo Greco, Chris van Heerden, Samuel Vargas and Alejandro Barrera. He’s boxed 120 rounds since turning pro in 2012 and has a lot of amateur experience as he competed at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.
Spence isn’t that tall as he stands just over 5-feet-9-inches and has a 72-inch reach. He has very good speed and power and enters the fight with a highly-impressive knockout ratio of 80.8 per cent despite not being regarded as a one-punch knockout artist. However, he had won 11 straight fights by way of stoppage until Mikey Garcia took him the distance in March, 2019. Spence has a fine jab and will be trying to establish it before unleashing his power shots against Garcia.
The 32-year-old Garcia is a former WBC and WBA Junior Welterweight Champion who won the vacant WBC Welterweight Title in January of 2016 with a unanimous decision over Robert Guerrero. However he lost that title to Keith Thurman by split decision in March, 2017 and was then beaten via a unanimous decision by Shawn Porter in September, 2018 in attempt to regain the vacant WBC belt.
Garcia enters this fight with a record of 36-2 and also has 21 Kos to his name. He has power in both hands, but it hasn’t really been evident lately since he has just five knockouts in his past 13 bouts since 2013. After going 107-13 as an amateur, Garcia turned pro in 2007 and has fought 258 rounds since. He stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 68.5-inch reach which means he gives up 1.5-inches in height to Spence and 3.5-inches in reach.
The former champ has faced some top-quality opposition over the years such as Porter, Thurman, Guerrero, Paulie Malignaggi, Amir Khan, Zab Judah, Mauricio Herrera, Lucas Matthysse, Kendall Holt, Nate Campbell, and Erik Morales twice. Garcia isn’t really a standout boxer, but he’s solid in all areas of the sport with good power, speed, defence, ring generalship and chin and that’s why he’s been beaten just twice as a pro.
Garcia’s current knockout ratio stands at 55.3 per cent and he doesn’t usually go looking for knockouts as he’s actually quite patient. He’s had some problems in the past with skilled boxers such as Thurman, Herrera and Judah and had to work hard against them since he was forced to go after them. He prefers opponents who are right in front of him as he can eventually wear them down with his jab and excellent left hook.
Prediction…
These are two relatively small but highly-skilled welterweights with Spence having the edge in speed and power. However, it’s unclear how last year’s car crash will affect him in the ring. Garcia’s solid but not spectacular and I just don’t think he has enough skills in his arsenal to outbox or stop Spence. Therefore, I’m expecting Spence to retain his belts on Saturday night.
