DANNY GARCIA impressed in his debut at welterweight, bludgeoning Paul Malignaggi inside nine rounds at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York last night [August 1].
The 27-year-old extended is unbeaten run to 31 wins while Malignaggi, a former two-weight world champion, may never fight again.
Garcia dominated from the opening bell and always looked the stronger of the two as Malignaggi, at 34, was unable to draw on the slick movement and effective jab he used earlier in his career.
“I still have things to work on, but I’m proud of myself – 147[lbs] is where it’s at,” Garcia said.
“I felt a lot stronger [at 147]. In the ninth round, I felt like it was round one. I need to work on shortening up punches and sticking with the game plan.”
From the outset, Garcia landed his right hand at will as he walked the Brooklyn native down, opening a cut over Malignaggi’s right eye in the third.
The onslaught continued as Malignaggi’s output significantly dropped and his right eye became a mess in the sixth as another cut appeared underneath it.
The ending came when Garcia sent Malignaggi stumbling into the ropes with hard shots and referee Arthur Mercante stepped in to wave it off at 2-22 as Garcia continued to land.
“I’m probably not fighting again,” Malignaggi said.
“You hate to make an emotional decision. My career started in Brooklyn 14 years ago. If it ends in Brooklyn tonight, then at least I ended it at home, where I’m from, and in front of the greatest fans in the world.”
Garcia can now look toward some exciting fights in the stacked welterweight division.
While he is unlikely to fight Floyd Mayweather, the likes of Shawn Porter, Keith Thurman and former victim Amir Khan all operate at 147lbs.
