BROOKLYN, NY — Perhaps it will be the last time Danny Garcia says goodbye to boxing Saturday evening at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The former welterweight champion from Philadelphia will also headline young prospects as the promoter of Swift Promotions, who will proceed him prior in a night that is being billed as “The Farewell to Brooklyn.”
But will this be the last time for Garcia? Farewell to Brooklyn does not necessarily mean the 37-year-old will hang up the gloves because we have heard more than one former champion retire and return a few years later as they miss the roar of a crowd or the money involved is too tempting.
However, Garcia (37-4, 21 KO’s) now competing at the 154-lb limit avoids the question about this being a farewell to a career. Instead, Garcia is focused on defeating 36-year-old Danny Gonzalez (22-4-1, 7KOs) from Queens, NY and assuring this will be a farewell win, despite having the career resume he, Garcia, established in a bout contested for 10-rounds.
Danny Garcia will take on Danny Gonzalez this Saturday at the Barclays Center in what is being billed as “The Farewell to Brooklyn” – Image Credit: Barclays Center/Swift Promotions
Garcia will stand tall for the 10th time at Barclays, opposed by 13 title holders while holding four defeats. Three on the wrong side to Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, and Errol Spence Jr., all at one point title holders at 147. So Garcia has nothing else to prove, then again, when does a fighter believe they reached a pinnacle or established a legacy?
“I fought everybody, I never ducked anyone,” Garcia said this week in final preparation for his reported farewell to Brooklyn and boxing. “The wins, the losses, it all made me Danny Garcia. Gonna go out there and show the world one last time that I belong in that Hall of Fame.”
He feels a legacy has been built and a Hall of Fame call to Canastota, NY is inevitable. The championship reign and opponents he never ducked are good credentials. A legacy every fighter seeks to accomplish. Garcia as a former champion and always in that top-10 pound-for-pound list has always said it was not about the big money.
Danny Garcia has built a boxing legacy that will earn him a future call to the International Boxing Hall of Fame located in Canastota, New York – Image Credit: DAZN
Going back ten years ago, Garcia was not earning $20 million for a fight at Barclays, a contrast to today as mega-star champions Canelo Alvarez and Gervonta Davis earn multi-millions in purses and streaming revenue because the complexion has changed. Garcia has earned, is financially secure, and with Swift Promotions, is content on his pursuit of helping young fighters achieve stardom.
He said highlighting Swift Promotions in Philadelphia is an emphasis and Brooklyn was a way to expand his new venture. On the 12-fight card Saturday are veteran super middleweights Gabriel Rosado (Philadelphia, PA) and Vaughn Alexander (St. Louis, MO) opposing each other, Brooklyn’s Chris Colbert who has stumbled a bit, and prospects including undefeated Keith Colon (7-0, 7KOs), the featherweight knockout artist from Newark, NJ.
Now, though it’s about this farewell to Brooklyn or perhaps a career, the card and Garcia fight will be streamed exclusively through MILLIONS.co pay-per-view—Link available here for more details.
It’s fight week for Danny Garcia and Danny Gonzalez who are set to go toe-to-toe in the ring this Saturday night in Brooklyn, New York – Image Credit: @DannySwiftGarcia on Instagram/Swift Promotions
Garcia is focused on Gonzalez, no different from his encounters with champions or with Thurman in a rare title unification at Barclays of two undefeated fighters, a box office record and most attended boxing match at the venue.
He remembers the fans, they travel up the NJ Turnpike from Philadelphia and Garcia has a New York City following. He looks forward to providing another Danny Garcia finish, not looking back at inactivity fighting four times in the last five years and losing two including a recent failure to take the WBA middleweight title from Cuban Erislandy Lara. Then, it was assumed that was the last we saw of Garcia, it wasn’t memorable.
“This feels like the ending of my movie,” he says. “We’ve got to end it with a win. This feels more like it’s my first fight than my last. I’m ready to go in there and do my thing. Gonzalez is hungry, he’s got everything to gain and I’ve got everything to lose.”
Before this Saturday night at the Barclays Center, Danny Garcia’s last two bouts came in September of 2024 and July of 2022 – Image Credit: @DannySwiftGarcia on Instagram/DAZN Boxing
Basically, Garcia has trained for this farewell in what he compares to similarities of a championship fight, though again this is different. No title and just a supposed farewell to cement a legacy in Brooklyn.
“I had to keep feeding my fans in Brooklyn,” he said. “They made me who I am today, so it was a perfect place for this fight. My favorite thing about the fans is the atmosphere and the love. I appreciate all the years that the fans have supported me. Come support me. I’m gonna give you a hell of a show.”
Though is this the farewell? And will this be Danny Garcia that gave fans a thrill so many times at Barclays Center? Perhaps a last time and maybe one more memorable fight Saturday night.
Rich Mancuso is a senior writer and columnist at Latinosports.com – X: @Ring786, Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
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