Despite a 19-month absence from the ring, Danny Garcia delivered a masterful performance under the bright lights of the Barclays Center tonight in Brooklyn, in what would be his debut in the 154-pound division. Over the course of the 12-round headlining bout, Garcia systematically nullified the offensive advances of Jose Benavidez Jr with a combination of defensive head movement, footwork, body punches, and a snapping jab that seemingly could not miss. Moreover, the ability to land punches in bunches and then retreat to a safe distance reminded us all of how well he lives up to the nickname “Swift”, even while debuting at a higher weight class.
Ringside angle of #GarciaBenavidez 👀 @DannySwift @josebenavidezjr pic.twitter.com/Z0kGJTrUiX
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) July 31, 2022
Throughout the fight, Garcia took a serious interest in working the body of his opponent with jabs and hooks, while evading the upstairs combination punching of Benavidez. Although, he was not able to evade them all, as Benavidez landed some jarring shots when he caught Garcia over committing on a couple of different occasions. Overall, Garcia remained steady following these hard punches from his opponent, displaying the strong chin that he has become known to possess.
Trading blows 👀@DannySwift @josebenavidezjr | #GarciaBenavidez pic.twitter.com/rOzuWnaP1l
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) July 31, 2022
In addition to Garcia’s jab and overall ring generalship, the hand speed and ability to land the straight right with no real answer from Benavidez is what will truly be remembered as a dominating aspect of this match. Although, due to one of the judges scoring the fight as a draw, a questionable ruling in the eyes of many, the result was recorded as a majority decision for Garcia, instead of the unanimous decision that many expected to hear announced.
.@DannySwift with the combinations in round 7 😬#GarciaBenavidez pic.twitter.com/YjShifPCxD
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) July 31, 2022
During his post fight interview, Garcia took an emotion filled moment to explain the 19-month layoff and how he had been struggling with mental health issues. He explained that the only way he was able to overcome these issues was to get back inside the ring, and in turn get back to being Danny Garcia.
A warrior inside and outside of the ring @DannySwift 🙏#GarciaBenavidez pic.twitter.com/62KF785uuk
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) July 31, 2022
Official Result: Danny Garcia def. Jose Benavidez Jr via Decision (Majority) – 114-114, 116-112, 117-111