Danny Garcia took a stay busy fight on Saturday against Samuel Vargas from Colombia and his planned tussle with Keith Thurman stays on track.
Garcia, from Philly, fighting in Philly, PA, can now concentrate on a March 4 faceoff with fellow welter ace Thurman. He sent Vargas down in the second and finished him in the seventh, as the ref saw rights landing too hard and too clean.
Garcia spoke after and asked the fans if they wanted him to whip Thurman's tail. They yelled. Then Thurman went into the ring and they yelled at each other.
Garcia went to 33-0; in round one he started out pretty quick and wasn't looking to get warm. He wanted to toss heat.
Vargas had been beaten down by Errol Spence but explained he'd had to shed mucho pounds quickly and was weak. He showed a chin in the first. Rights landed clean as Vargas came in eager.
In the second, Garcia stayed calm and then blocked jabs and missed a couple wide hooks. Danny slipped and reset his feet and then landed a bomb right. A counter right was the heat seeker.
To the third..Garcia pumped a jab. His punches had snap and the right wasn't missing. In round four, Garcia stalked and Vargas wanted to move more to start. Then he started to press and left himself open. But he was busier and so had a better round. Danny was jabbing more and late clanged a left hook.
To 5; the left eye was puffed on Vargas and the right cheek too. Vargas had to work to slip shots to begin the round. A right had the Danny fans buzzing.
Into six—Danny was in command. He was just getting work, pacing himself, knowing Vargas was there to earn his check. Danny finished the round with some flurrying. His pop gave him the What For after the round and we saw Garcia looking more active. A counter right landed sharp and the left eye was looking worse in 7. Garcia definitely stalked harder. The end came when the ref beat the corner to ending it, as Vargas wasn't defending himself well.
*****
Ex super feather Javier Fortuna took on Omar Douglas in the Spike TV opener and it got cooking on high heat in round one, as Douglas sent the ex champ to the mat. A left hook did the damage.
Things settled down and they hit the distance, finishing with a raucous tenth. The cards were read, showing Fortuna as the victor, by scores 96-93, 96-93, 95-94, and his quest to regain a crown remains on track.
In round two, the righty Douglas was a busy beaver. He was often first on a guy known as a volume merchant. Fortuna stayed smart by moving more, keeping that chin out of harms way better. In the third, Fortuna got combos going. He was hook happy as was Douglas, who also popped a smart jab. Fortuna you recall won a crown on Spike, vs Bryan Vasquez but dropped it to Jason Sosa, who won a defense in England earlier in the day.
Round four saw Fortuna getting busier, getting comfy again. Same in five. His movement was constant and judicious. Douglas was attacking but following without being able to make the aggression overly effective. In the sixth, we saw clinching, and the ref chided Fortuna. More warnings for chippiness in round seven. Douglas didn't have an answer for the movement but then landed clean more later in the seventh. In round eight, Fortuna and Douglas wrassled when they weren't punching. Douglas showed more eagerness, comprehending he was losing, in the ninth. In the tenth, the pace was still quick. And the clinching still too prominent. Then they bombed center ring at 1:30. This was back and forth fury. Fortuna took risks galore and their interchange thrilled the crowd.
*****
154 prospect Jarrett Hurd met Jo Jo Dan in the second SPIKE tango and is it time to call Hurd a contender? He beat up Dan, forcing the Dan corner to wave the surrender flag in round six.
A Hurd flurry in round two, after a warmup round one, has the punters abuzz. Dan popped his right jab, trying to keep the larger man at bay. Tight tosses, mean leather, answered him. He scored in tight, happy to be nose to nose against a former title challenger.
In the third, Hurd, looking a weight class or two larger, advanced with intensity. He dipped and slipped and worked his way in to blue sky openings. Dan, off fourteen months, was ready to rumble. His arm punches didn't bother Hurd at all. Then a right landed low on Dan who gamely continued.
His pluck was his best asset. Rounds passed and Dan ate lead rights and started retreating more. In round five, jabs touched Dan, who kept on seeking to land, bless him. Body work by Dan sent notice he was still game to play on. Hurd is a cool customer, doesn't get flustered as he goes about it.
To six…Hurd wanted to close the show. And he did.
