Danny Garcia has yet to address an explosive rumor that he will pull out of his scheduled February 9 WBC and WBA title defense against Zab Judah at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
Last night following Lucas Matthysse’s crushing first round KO of Mike Dallas, Zab Judah (who was in attendance ringside) retweeted a post from USA Today writer Mike Coppinger claiming Garcia would soon officially cancel the bout. Judah, apparently confirming the allegations, briefly denounced Danny and his father Angel on Twitter.
Danny and his outspoken father, who have been very vocal in the build-up to this fight and have nearly come to blows several times with Judah, have not released any statements on the matter.
At press time, Golden Boy Promotions has also not addressed the rumors. The match would be Garcia’s second defense of the titles he won via a fourth round TKO of Amir Khan last summer.
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This is a classic case of where there’s smoke there’s fire. A fighter with plans to go ahead with a bout would not let like a rumor like this ride for so long. That alone lends credence to something being up. The initial word I was hearing was that Garcia has not been taking training seriously and wasn’t sufficiently prepared. The latest rumor mill, which makes much more sense, is that there is some type of injury involved.
Like you, I hate when fights are canceled, but injuries are a part of the game. However, if anything else is going on, Garcia’s rep is going to take a huge hit. All we can do now is play the waiting game until Golden Boy and the Garcia camp let us know the deal.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 