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Danny Garcia says he’s motivated only by legacy as he aims to fulfill his dream of becoming a three-weight world champion against Erislandy Lara next month.
Garcia (37-3-0 21 KO) ends more than two years of inactivity when he challenges WBA middleweight champion Lara on September 21 at T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Their bout will be the co-main event of the unified super-middleweight title bout between champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga.
Garcia, 36, has won world titles at light-welterweight and welterweight but last fought for a world title in December 2020 when he lost on points to 147lbs WBB and IBF champion Errol Spence Jr.
Considering his age, financial security, and time away from the ring, the announcement that Garcia was returning to fight Lara for a middleweight world title caught many observers by surprise, but the Philadelphia native says his reasons to return are driven by one thing.
“It’s definitely legacy, my legacy is everything to me,” he told Boxing Social. “Since I started boxing, I wanted to be an Olympic gold medallist, I wanted to be a world champion in three different weight classes.
“I didn’t get the gold medal, but I got two championships in two divisions, and I always said I wanted three. Right now I’m chasing, speaking my words into existence, doing everything I do. I’m the type of person who when he says he’s gonna do something, I’m not gonna stop until I achieve it.”
Both fighters will enter the ring with three defeats on their records, but all came against champion-level fighters. For Garcia, his losses to Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter were extremely close on the scorecards, before his admittedly wide defeat to Spence.
Lara, meanwhile, has only been beaten by Paul Williams, Canelo, and Jarrett Hurd, losing a majority decision to Williams and on split decisions to Canelo and Hurd.
Garcia is determined to inflict a fourth defeat on Lara and wants to do something no fighter has been able to accomplish.
“I would love to be the first person to stop Lara,” he said. “If I can do that and take the championship, it would be the icing on the cake, but I’ll be ready for 12 rounds.”
Asked what it would mean to achieve his ambitions of becoming a three-division champion, Garcia replied: “It would mean the world to me. It’s the rest of my dreams right here. Not everyone achieves their dreams. I won titles in two different weight classes, and this will be third time’s a charm.”
Garcia was also asked about his plans for after Lara, assuming he is successful and defeats the Cuban on September 21. While he refused to look beyond his next opponent, he did suggest that he would continue boxing.
“Right now, I’m so focused on Lara because this is a fight I cannot overlook,” he said. “This is the history fight, the legacy fight, for me. Worrying about anyone else wouldn’t make sense to me. I’ve just got to go in there and take care of Lara.”
Garcia turned professional in 2007 and won his first world title – the WBC’s light-welterweight belt – in 2012. He has fought many of the best fighters of his generation and beaten most of them, including Erik Morales twice, Amir Khan, Zab Judah, and Lucas Martin Matthysse.
“I’m a young O.G in the sport but it definitely does go fast. Looking at the last 12 years of my career, going back to 2012 and to now in 2024, it’s been a hell of a run and it went by so quick,” Garcia said. “It’s a blessing to still be here fighting for world titles. It shows you how great I am. Many fighters can last a decade-plus; I’m still here fighting at the highest level.”
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