Danny Garcia's next move has been hard to peg, since he's all but ruled out a rematch with 140-lb. slugger Lucas Matthysse. A Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight seems unlikely, but two men seem eager to test Danny "Swift," who seems ready to make the jump to welterweight.
Paulie Malignaggi, who had his championship belt taken by Adrien Broner in "The Problem's" first fight at 147 lbs., said he would be willing to go toe-to-toe with the undefeated Garcia for the proper price.
"Danny is a solid world-class fighter, and a big 140-pounder," Malignaggi said, "so I expected him to move up to the welterweight division. So yeah, if the money is there. I'm not arguing with Danny and his father. Don't expect that. I have a lot of respect for them. It's an interesting fight at 147 but so are a lot of others."
By others, Malignaggi surely means the winner of Broner vs. Marcos Maidana. Malignaggi lost a very narrow split decision to Broner, then railed against the politics of boxing after scorecards of two judges revealed dominating cards. Malignaggi complained the judge was in promoter Al Haymon's pocket; now both Malignaggi and Broner are part of Haymon's stable, so that may even the odds.
Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer cautions boxing observers not to dismiss the slugging Maidana either. "You can't look past Maidana. He's wanted this fight with Broner for such a long time. He is very hungry to win this fight," Schaefer said.
Another potential matchup for Garcia at welterweight is Victor Ortiz, who is scheduled to fight on the Broner undercard. Ortiz would be a very large opponent for Garcia, as he often campaigns as high as 154 lbs.
"Absolutely, why not have a fight with Danny Garcia?" Ortiz said. "I've known Danny for many years, great guy, great fighter, but this is my time. 147 or 154...get out of the way," Ortiz told Boxingscene.com.
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