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| Danny Garcia (left) & Mauricio Herrera (right) |
It was then no coincidence that his opponent is a Mexican-American, igniting Garcia as a huge home favourite as he fights not only for his own WBA and WBC Light Welterweight titles but for the pride of Puerto Rico.
Mauricio Herrera, born in California, can boast a victory against the feared Ruslan Provodnikov, but one must not get carried away with such a feat. Provodnikov was rather blue at just 17-0(11) at the time, and has evolved into a different animal - the one we have witnessed in his last 2 encounters. That leaves only wins over Mike Dallas Jr (MD 10) and a faded Ji-Hoon Kim (UD 10) that hold much significance on his 20-3(7) record.
With all due respect, Herrera is a rather light touch for Garcia, his first defeat came against Mike Anchondo (SD 8) - who lost his next fight to Freddy Hernandez in 4 - before successive defeats in 2012 at the hands of Mike Alvarado (UD 10) and Karim Mayfield (UD 10). While there was no shame in those 2 defeats, it does make one wonder how he'll cope with the number 1 Light Welterweight in the world, a man arguably in the midst of his prime.
Garcia 27-0(16) can bang and box efficiently, but he has let his guard down when there are expectations of a great performance as well as the win. His points victory over Zab Judah last April was blemished by his late flump, as Judah drove himself back into a contest that Garcia was dominating, turning a one-sided contest into a rather close one. Then if you look back further, Britain's Ashley Theophane pushed him to a split decision.
Despite those slight dips in performance, one cannot imagine the same happening in front of a pumped Puerto Rican crowd. Garcia can box his way into a rhythm early, as Herrera looks to counter where he can. Seeing the fight slipping away, Herrera will have to take more risks which should open doors for Garcia's left hook. At some point around the 7th, Herrera will be found wanting and Garcia's sharp counter-punching will send him to the deck. Garcia can then finish the job, halting the brave but thoroughly outgunned Herrera inside 8.
In the most anticipated fight of the night, two American Heavyweight hopefuls square off in a clash of styles over 12 rounds. Patient one-punch KO artist Deontay Wilder 30-0(30) takes on by a long shot his toughest opponent to date in polished-boxer Malik Scott 36-1-1(13).
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| Deontay Wilder (far left) & Malik Scott (far right) |
The victor will likely be in line to face the winner of the Chris Arreola-Bermane Stiverne rematch for the vacant WBC Heavyweight title.
Wilder may be an explosive puncher, but he is also an extremely patient boxer. He often wastes little energy, waiting for the right time to submit his opponents with his crippling right cross. At 6ft 7inches, Wilder snaps out a volley of jabs before unleashing hell, which often results in early finishes - Wilder is yet to go beyond round 4.
On the other hand Scott has seen plenty of rounds, but showed a meaner side when stopping well-overmatched Grover Young in 2 in January. That was following 2 controversial fights, the first being when he was unlucky to only draw against Vyacheslav Glazkov - who faces Tomasz Adamek on the same night - before being controversially counted out by referee Phil Edwards against Dereck Chisora. Chisora floored Scott in the 6th round and as Scott rose at 9, Edwards waved off the fight, much to the disbelief of Scott and his team.
Still the punch itself may have shown a slight blip in Scott's armour, one that Wilder will no doubt look to exploit at some point.
Wilder will be wiser than to waste energy early, and he will likely be ready to go into the second half of the contest to get the job done. Scott will be happy with that, but if Wilder doesn't burn too much energy early then it could spell trouble for Scott down the stretch.
To win, Scott will need to work himself in the early rounds, not allowing the taller Wilder to dominate behind his jab. Fast feet and head movement will be key behind a double jab and good body work. As the contest progresses then Scott will need to lead Wilder onto counter-punches which could see him come out victorious.
But the pick is for Wilder to do enough in the early stanza's behind his jab, not allowing Scott to offer an early chin check. While the action may not be to everyone's taste, it will be an intriguing contest right until the end of the fight. That end can come in the final 5 rounds of the fight as Wilder ups his work rate, tagging Scott hard before finishing the job soon after. A good 8 or so rounds under his belt will no doubt give American fight fans more of an idea as to how far this bright prospect can go.
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| Juan Manuel Lopez (left) & Daniel Ponce De Leon (right) |
To conclude the triple-header is a rematch no one would have anticipated happening nearly 6 years ago when Juan Manuel Lopez annihilated Daniel Ponce De Leon in just 1 round. Through strange and unlikely circumstances they meet again in a 10 round bout that has guaranteed excitement written all over it.
'JuanMa' 33-3(30) found his path to greatness halted when Orlando Salido came along, two stoppages in 8 and 10 rounds respectively have not yet left the memory of the Puerto Rican star. A 4th round loss last time out to Mikey Garcia seemed to signal an end to Lopez's world title aspirations.
But as fate goes he has another chance to redeem his career against old Mexican foe, De Leon 45-5(35). De Leon himself is recovering from the 2nd stoppage defeat of his career, when he was halted in 9 by Abner Mares.
One can envision the winner facing WBC Featherweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez, whom De Leon beat (TD 8) prior to his failed bid for the same title vs Mares.
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| Daniel Jacobs (centre) with prospects Marcus Browne (left) & Eddie Gomez (right) |
Also on the undercard, the 'Miracle Man' Daniel Jacobs 26-1(23) continues his inspiring comeback since defeating cancer. Milton Nunez 26-9-1(24) has a punchers chance but Jacobs can record a 5th stoppage win in a row since his return, inside 5.
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