WINNING IS NOT ENOUGH - Danny Garcia beats Mauricio Herrera

Fight Review 

Danny Garcia vs Mauricio Herrera

Prize fighting is more than just a boxing match. To justify its very existance there has to be drama. Prizefighters make a lot of money, generate a lot of hype and there are long build ups to their fights which we all eagerly anticipate for weeks and sometimes even months. If there is no drama during the actual fight it is just another 36 minute sporting event. If that’s all a fight offers there are plenty other options to watch on the weekends. Danny Garcia won a boxing match in his fight against Mauricio Herrera but if he wants to maintain his reputation as a prize fighter he will have to do better against 2nd tier opponents.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Danny outboxed Hererra but he did not deliver what the viewers wanted which was a dramatic beat down.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

There has been the usual cries of ‘robbery’ and ‘controversial decision’ in the aftermath of this fight but in reality it was nothing of the sort. Danny outboxed Hererra but he did not deliver what the viewers wanted which is a dominating beat down. In the absence of this kind of expected victory the perception becomes that this was a close fight. 

Herrera tried to win with the jab. The jab is a punch to be used for many reasons, but mainly distracting and occupying your opponent and also for timing and positioning to land power shots. It is not supposed to be used to win fights. On the rare occasion he did throw a ‘power’ shot it was not thrown with conviction. Fighting like this you will never hurt your opponent which is the main objective of professional boxing. Throwing a power punch is risky as when it is actually thrown with power, if you miss or even if you land you can find yourself off balance and out of position. This opens you up to counters. Herrera, by never throwing with power rarely left himself open. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Throwing a power punch is risky, as if you miss or even if you land you can find yourself off balance and out of position opening yourself up to counter punches.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

As a consequence of this strategy Danny found it hard to land any dramatic big shots. His strategy is mainly to counter punch but if his opponent doesn’t open himself up this ability is restricted. If Garcia wants to be a prizefighter however he must initiate attacks a lot more. Agaisnt a light hitter like Herrera he should have been applying constant pressure but this lack of attack first shows up in his jab stats. Of his 675 punches thrown only 273 were jabs. A good jab is a near necessity to set up and initiate attacks and Danny clearly needs to work on his.

This fight was a clear win for Danny as he threw 402 power punches to Herrera’s 276. He landed on 150 to Herrera’s 82 for a much higher land percentage. They also landed with a lot more power and conviction. Garcia showed the skill and athleticism to distiguish himself as a world class fighter vs the 2nd tier Herrera, but if he wants to maintain his fame and prize fighter reputation he will have to win in a lot more dominating fashion in the future. He did not provide the drama required to make a large audience required for blockbuster fights to sit up and take notice.

BETTER THAN HE LOOKS - Why Danny Garcia is the 140lbs King

Danny Garcia vs Mauricio Herrera

Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico

Sat, Mar 15 at 7:00 PM on SHOWTIME

12 rounds for the WBC, WBA and The Ring light welterweight titles

PREDICTION: Danny Garcia stoppage / KO

“Never looking impressive but consistently winning” - Emanuel Steward.

This quote sums up Danny Garcia perfectly. Everything he does looks somewhat mediocre yet he keeps winning against world class opponents. How does he do it? While his fighting style doesn’t look spectacular he is great at things that are not so obvious. He is smart, very level headed, and has great timing and accuracy. His fight on March 15 against Mauricio Herrera is a significant step down in quality compared to previous opponents and a chance for Danny to cash in on his new found fame. Let’s then take a look at the things he did to beat the world class opponents he faced on his way to becoming the light welterweight king.

His great timing and accuracy showed up most clearly when he fought Amir Khan. Getting soundly beaten in the first 2 rounds, Garcia seemed completely unable to handle Amir’s quick hands. The counter punches he threw were far too late against Khan’s blistering speed. That is until round 3 when Amir came in with his by now predictable left hand right hand combo. In a great display of timing Danny stayed in the pocket against the left hand then straight away turned his head and body to the right causing Amir’s right hand to miss, while throwing a left hook over the top. Lucky punch right? Well maybe not as was seen when he fought Zab Judah.

                                                                                                                                                                   
At first Danny had trouble with Amir's speed, but he adapted and once used to it he counter punched with perfect timing and precision seriously hurting his opponent.
                                                                                                                                                                   

In Danny's fight against Zab Judah, Zab’s one two right jab left hand cross was effective in the early stages. Zab would clinch after these combo’s not allowing Danny the space to counter. In a clever adjustment later in the fight however Danny decided to take a step back when Zab launched his predictable attack. This created the space Danny needed to launch a perfectly timed right hook, landing with precision and hurting Zab. A knock down came later in the fight on another Zab right hand left hand combo. This time the left got through but Danny has a granite chin and took it well all the while maintaining his composure enabling him to fire back with a left right combo of his own.

Apart from these displays of timing, accuracy and composure there are examples of his smartness in the ring. Against Zab he constantly kept his lead left foot on the outside of Zab’s lead right. In this position he was able to pepper Zab with looping right hand leads so as to keep Zab from escaping to his left. If Zab tried to escape by moving away from Danny’s right hand he would run into a danger zone in the form of Danny’s left hook, not to mention there was not much space for an exit as Danny’s left leg was in the way. Due to Danny’s limited physical abilities this strategy did not overwhelm the more athletic Zab but he was able to narrow this disadvantage and eventually hurt Zab with what he is good at. Counter punching. Particularly impressive was when he did have Zab hurt he didn’t wildly chase him around the ring, but very calmly kept with the fight plan of keeping that left lead foot on the outside all the while pressuring the still recuperating Zab.

                                                                                                                                                                   
When Danny had Zab hurt he kept calm, staying to his fight plan of keeping his lead left foot on the outside of Zab's to line up his right hand lead.
                                                                                                                                                                   

By the time he came to fight Lucas Matthysse late in 2013, it seemed his physical and skill limitations would catch up with him. In his previous fights he looked like a poor mover who could only fight standing still. This could get him in trouble against the hard hitting Argentinian. But surprisingly from the first bell he came out moving quite well. Nothing impressive but well enough to win. Against Amir and Zab his advantage was in letting them come to him and countering or trying to restrict their movement. It would have been unwise to try and match their superior footwork. Against Matthysse however this style would have played into his opponents hands. Matthysse prefers a stationary opponent to unleash his power on, so Danny changed it up as he saw his advantage in his much improved footwork.

Danny also made a clever adjustment during the fight. When Matthysse attacked he would duck down under Danny’s counter leaving Danny swinging at air. Danny’s trainer Angel Garcia then implored his son to ‘hurt him to the body’ as an adjustment to Mattyse’s ducking head movement. Straight away he started countering Matthysse's attacks by landing to the body, eventually turning the fight in his favour.
                                                                                                                                                                   
Danny adjusts well during his fights. He started going to the body when he couldn't find Matthysse's head, in the process turning the fight in his favour.
                                                                                                                                                                   

As can be seen in the above video clips Danny Garcia does a lot of small unspectacular things to get spectacular results. Smart adjustments, composure, great timing, and accurate punches have enabled him to get the better of world class opponents all the while propelling himself to the top of the light welterweight mountain.

 

This leads us to his latest match up vs Mauricio Herrera. This is as they say in pro boxing a ‘stay busy fight’. A chance for Danny to cash in on his new found fame. Herrara has poor movement, defence, and power but he does posses an incredibly strong chin, though how long he will be able to last against Danny is the only point of interest in this fight. Chances are not for the whole 12 rounds so a Danny Garcia KO is likely. If not, it will be a dominating win with lots of action. Be sure to tune in March 15.