As the boxing world awaits September 14th, the night when Floyd Mayweather Jr. faces Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, another fight on that card threatens to steal the show.
140 lb. belt holders Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse are set to square off prior to Floyd and Canelo, although organizing the bout was not easy, and the delay caused some to believe Garcia tried to duck Matthysse.
After Matthysse decimated Lamont Peterson in Atlantic City a few months ago with Garcia in attendance, his shocked face became an internet sensation. People have used that against him recently, claiming he really doesn't want to face the hard-punching Argentine.
Garcia insists reality is the exact opposite.
"As soon as my last fight was over, they asked me if I wanted to fight this guy, this guy or that guy," Garcia said. "I told them right away, I wanted to fight [Matthysse]. That's what I said, and I agreed to it before he agreed to it. It took a couple of weeks for the fight to get made. A fight that big, it's not made overnight. They told me not to say anything until it was done, so I couldn't talk."
Garcia has never shied from challenges in the past, battling legend Erik Morales, quick-handed Amir Khan, and crafty southpaw Zab Judah in his hometown of Brooklyn, so his words have merit. Garcia said he is just ignoring his critics.
You know, people are going to say what they want to say, whether they know what they're talking about or not," Garcia said. "I can't do nothing about that, so I don't worry about it. It's just stupid talk that I ignore."
Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer has gone on record defending both fighters' willingness and desire to meet, saying in an e-mail:
"I really don't know who accepted first, [but] the fact is that both fighters NEVER had ANY issue with fighting each other. As I had stated during the conference call both guys wanted each other! The only reason why it did take a while to get the fight announced was to find ways to come up with the money to put this great matchup on Sept. 14."
"We had asked both fighters to stay quiet during that time, which I think was difficult for them because both were (and still are) SUPER EXCITED to fight each other!"
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