Speaker 1: I want to welcome into the podcast this week none
other than Danny Swift Garcia, the two division world champion
going for a third world title. Danny, You'll be fighting
Arislan Ni Laara for his WBA middleweight title. That fight
takes place in the co feature when Canelo Alvarez takes
on Edgar Berlanga on the PBC on Prime Pay per
View September fourteenth at the Team Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
I want to welcome you as you it's our first
interview since I've been doing this podcast. I'm very happy
to have you on. How have you been. It's been
a while since I've talked to you.
Speaker 2: I've been great. You no enjoying my life. I had
two kids in my last fight.
Speaker 1: A top Now now we know you need the money.
I guess you're having more kids, right I know in
doing what you love that is true.
Speaker 2: You know I'm chasing greatness right now, and that's that's
on I'm fighting.
Speaker 3: Well.
Speaker 1: I was gonna ask you about that because the reality
is that you haven't fought in two years or it
will be able to be just about two years since
you get in the ring. It's only been it only
be your fourth fight where you've had four fights Tence
twenty nineteen, and so I know you say you're chasing
greatness and you have other things you want to do,
like you mentioned, But was there a particular reason that
you decided to take the layoff?
Speaker 3: Was there?
Speaker 1: I don't know if there was an injury or just
got a little bored or just couldn't get a fight.
What was the long layoff for?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 2: The layoff was the fight was supposed to take place
last year in August, so I was supposed to come
back right away, but I guess Showtime's hoped doing boxing,
so I got caught up in that small political change
and I just waited it out. And that's pretty much
the reason why I need fight. It's because the Showtop thing,
not really because I just didn't want to fight. It
was just time and bad timing that on that on
that end.
Speaker 1: So I asked that because there's some people that thought
when this fight was announced, like boy Man, I thought
Danny Garcia retired, but that's obviously not the case.
Speaker 2: Yeah, No, I've never I never retired. I never announced
my retirement. But I guess people can assume or come
to their own conclusions or assumptions when you know you
have been acted. But I wasn't active because I didn't
want to it just the way the game is now,
you got to guess.
Speaker 3: You gotta wait your turn.
Speaker 1: Well, I think the other thing also is you were
in the news not so much for this fight being made,
but if you go back a couple of months ago, uh,
there was a lot of discussion about Danny Garcia was
getting involved in promotion. You and your partner created Swift Promotions.
You put on a card in Atlantic City with the
plans to do some events in Atlantic City in your
hometown of Philadelphia. And so when you hear that, you're like, well,
you know, maybe he's he's staying involved in boxing, but
maybe getting away from the part where he's the guy
in the ring and now he's doing the business outside
of the ring.
Speaker 3: Well, you know, I.
Speaker 2: Always want to be a promoter, and you know, I
just didn't want to stand around and do nothing.
Speaker 3: So I'm always a person like to chase new goals
and new dreams.
Speaker 2: And like even during the pandemic when I was in fighting,
when I went to the buyer real estate and build
real estate. So I'm always thinking about what can I
do when I'm not in the ring. And I thought about,
you know, giving back, giving back to the young kid,
and Philly started the motion and see if I could
do something big.
Speaker 1: And how did that first show go for you?
Speaker 2: The first show went good, the second the second show
went great, you know, sold out getting in Philly twenty
three hundred arena. The venue was about a thousand people
and a thousand people showed up.
Speaker 3: So it was a great turnout. You know.
Speaker 2: I was happy, great atmosphere and people seem to love it.
Speaker 3: So I can't wait for the next one. All right.
Speaker 1: Well, so now you'll take a little break from that
aspect of your your career and go involved. Now be
involved in an actual fight where you're that got you
in the boxing ring. And so the part of this
fight that I look at, I see, you know, Danny
Garcia have been super successful as a champion in the
junior wealterweight division with a lot of big wins, had
success in the welterweight division, won another world title. Uh,
you've just had the one fight in the junior middleweight division.
That was your last fight. That's like I said about
two years ago. Uh, and I think even Danny Garcia
woul admit maybe not your greatest performance, even though you
won the fight against Jose Benavidez Junior. Uh And now
you step up into the middleweight division to challenge Arislandi
Laara for his world title. He's a veteran, he's experienced,
he's been a champ at one hundred and fifty four
and been, you know, one of the top guys for
quite a while. And so I just wonder your your
perspective on the move up in weight and taking on
this challenge where you have never really fought above welterweight,
the first flight of market four.
Speaker 2: You know, I feel like I boxed a mazy like
on my every ground. So I feel like I dominated
that fight. And I fight the Laura fight, that's the
fight that was the easiest fight made.
Speaker 3: You know. He he's with PVC. I'm with PVC.
Speaker 2: So I felt like it wasn't no political non political
getting away of that fight. And that's where I already
want to fight him. And plus he has a belt
and that's the opportunity for me to be a three
division world champion. And yeah, definitely, so I feel like
it's just made sense and not you can pretty stop
that fight.
Speaker 1: Now, do you feel like, you know, because you were
even when you were fighting Danny as a junior welterweight,
as terrific as you were being champ and everything, you
were never looked at as a guy that was like
a big junior welterweight. You know, you always fit that
weight class really well. And I think there were some
people that saw your fights at welterweight and say, you know,
Danny Garcia is still really good, but he's not really
that big of a guy at welterweight. Now you're stepping up,
you know, another two divisions from there, and I wonder
in your mind, like, how do you think you fit
in now as one hundred and sixty pounder.
Speaker 3: I'm still great.
Speaker 2: To be honest, I always walked around about wait, I
always walked around instead of the sixty five pounds. So
I feel like at my age, you know my age,
I'm thirty six now, I feel like it's very important
for me to fighting a weight that I'm comfortable with
and not really killing myself. You know, when you're in
your twenties, you could kill yourself to be waight, rehydrate
ten pounds and feel really strong.
Speaker 3: But it's a lot different now, So I feel.
Speaker 2: Like I got to be more shaggy when it comes
to my fights and everything just has to make sense,
and I feel like this is going.
Speaker 3: To help me for the better now.
Speaker 1: I think that when you mentioned that this was a
fight that's sort of been the in the in the
works for a while. I know showtime was there was
talks about it being last summer. As you mentioned, it
didn't happen for obvious reasons. Now it's taking place. There
would be some that will look at this and say,
you know, Garcia Lara two excellent names, guys who have
been a credit and fought a lot of big fights.
But and I have to be honest, I kind of
fall into this category. While I'm not unhappy to see
Danny Swift Garcia back in the ring, I do question
the merit of you challenging for a middleweight title, having
never fought in the way class, having come off a
very long layoff, and havn't had that fight with Benevitez
at one fifty four in your last fight. So tell
me and tell the listeners what makes you say that
it should be Danny Swift Garcia now that deserves the
opportunity to challenge for a middleway title.
Speaker 2: You know, at the end of the day, the last
twelve years in boxing, you know, I fought for role
title twenty twelve and I thought, now, but the best
fighters my whole entire career, you know, So when it
comes to I know a lot.
Speaker 3: Of people say, how do you get that opportunity? How
do he give the line?
Speaker 2: But I put in a lot of work, you know,
and I've seen a lot of other fighters get opportunities,
you know, their first time we went up a wait
like Terrace Crawford, he just fought for a WBA title.
He never caught that one with before. So I feel
like it makes no difference to me. You know, when
you're chasing greatness and you want to be great, you know,
I want to do what Colvid did. I want to
do what Duran did. I want to start at the
smarter weight class. They go all the way up and
win titles in every week class. So to me, this
is a chance to be the This is for my legacy,
and I feel like when his legacy fights, you know,
you can't be.
Speaker 3: Bad at it.
Speaker 1: In terms of Laura, he's forty one years old. As
I mentioned, been a guy that's had an excellent career,
been a real serious world champion at one hundred and
fifty four pounds, was a top amateur just like you were.
But he's he's fought infrequently, and I wonder when you
look at him and you see yourself matching up with him,
where do you view him at in his career? He
has not yet faced, in my opinion, anyway of all
of his middleway fights. Certainly not a big name or
or a top top guy. Certainly nobody with a name
like Danny Garcia, you know, whatever way class you're fighting in.
So how do you view Laura at this point in
his career as you go into this fight?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I still view Laura. You know, he's a great champion.
He's been knocked.
Speaker 2: I know he hasn't fault into big names at one sixty,
but he's still been knocking guys out even at forty
years old, So he's definitely still a threat. You know,
I'm looking at Laura like Laura, you know, So I'm
taking him serious. You know, I'm training hard and I
expect the best Barra that like I know he's expected
the best Danny Garcia.
Speaker 3: So I'm gonna come in there and ready.
Speaker 1: In big history, Danny, you have had a ton of
high profile TV fights, main event fights against a lot
of good names, a lot of big wins. I wonder
when you think back on your cur I know it's
not over yet, but is there one of your of
all those fights you have, I think of Matisse, that
spectacular knockout against Eric Morales in your rematch, a big
win against Lamon Peterson, the great knockout against amer Khan
in your unification fight. You got so many top fights.
When you think back, what's your favorite fight of yours
that you've had and why.
Speaker 2: My favorite fight? Number one plan have to be Americ Khan.
You guys, no one thought I was I was an
eighth to one underdog. You know, I just beat Morale
as they say he was old, and then I just
jumped up in front of my title.
Speaker 3: I guess a superstar.
Speaker 2: Americ Khan one of the most talented boxers and Olympic
silver medalists at seventeen years old.
Speaker 3: I feel like Americ Khan was one of my greatest victories.
Speaker 2: And then even the Matiss fight, because I was I
was already I already made five defenses and then I
was still the underdog.
Speaker 3: So I felt like I proved myself a lot.
Speaker 2: You know, even even the Therman fight, to me is
a great fight, even though it was a close fight.
You know, some people that I want, some people that
I lost. It depends Wight, you know, like I thought
I was out, but that was only my second defense
at one. That was asking my first defense. I'm sorry,
that was my first defense. And I try to unify
the division. So that's that's an history fight for me too,
because not sure that you know, I was trying to
be great and unified two divisions back to back.
Speaker 1: So with this fight, when Laura, are you back in
boxing for the long haul? Are you gonna have to
go another two years? Uh to see you fight again
after this?
Speaker 2: That's a good question. Right now, I'm just taking it
one front at a time. I'm taking one front at
a time. You know, you can't fight forever, and so
he don't win this world.
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna wrap up with this. I'll just take
a point of privilege. He and I'll say, Danny, I've
been covering boxing almost twenty five years and I was
looking up your record before we got on the interview.
When I was getting ready for some of these questions,
I was looking back at your at your roster of fights.
Do you know that I've I think when I I'm
gonna be at this fight card between Canelo and Berlin
and your fight with Laura, I believe this is gonna
be my twenty fifth Danny Garcia fight at ringside. I
think you're of all the fighters I've ever covered, that
might be number one or number two of everybody I've
ever covered. I want to know because I was there
when you won the title against uh against Morales, against Morales,
I was there when you won against Batista. I was
at your professional debut. I want to know being at
that many Danny Garcia fights so I get a prize. Oh,
let me know what you need, all right, just joke,
just joking.
Speaker 3: Remember do you remember the art on me after I
got off the scale.
Speaker 1: And do you remember that which fight was that? I
kind of do vaguely remember that it was.
Speaker 2: Uh well Afteve Forbes. It was after the Wayne and
you were saying at the table and the first thing
I ate with the cheesecake. You probably remember you was like,
why the cheese, Kate?
Speaker 1: I guess I don't remember that. Tell me now, you
tell me the story, because I usually am the guy
telling the other fighter of the story of what I remember.
Speaker 3: I remember I got out the stale on the first
thing I ate with the cheese cake? Can you say it?
Right next to me? And you said you're eating the
wind and you say you're gonna write an article on it.
Speaker 2: I don't know you ever wrote an article, but I
remember that that was a pretty funny moment.
Speaker 1: I gotta go back and check that out. I do,
I do remember. I do remember the pro debut at
the Borgata on a on an HBO under card. You
weren't on television, but you were off TV. But the
thing about it was, you know, you had a lot
of hype from the amateurs and and at the time
your manager was Shelley Pinkel, and Shelley was telling me,
you got to watch my kid, Danny Garcia's turn and pro.
Make sure you get there early. I got there early,
like I always do. When I saw you you score
your first win against Mike Denby.
Speaker 2: If I recall correctly, that's.
Speaker 1: A long time ago. Well so I can't either, but
I'm gonna remember. I think what happens on September fourteenth.
I'm looking forward to seeing you fight, looking forward to
seeing Canelo, and I wish you good luck in the match. Danny,
I appreciate it.
Speaker 3: Thank you.