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Danny Garcia begrudgingly looked down at the scales, sweat dripping profusely from his brow before ultimately making his decision. While he thoroughly enjoyed his time in the welterweight division, the Philadelphia native knew good and well that squeezing down his fairly big frame to the 147-pound weight limit was no longer a possibility.
So, in an effort to hand his body a reprieve, the newly turned 34-year-old opted to move up in weight. In his first trip to 154-pounds, the former two-division world titlist made it look relatively easy against Jose Benavidez Jr. Still, even with Garcia pitching a near shutout, Erickson Lubin doubts that his new rival will pose much of a threat to the upper echelon of the division.
“I’m not a hater,” said Lubin during an interview with BoxingScene.com. “I definitely give Danny his props for moving up a weight class and all that type of stuff. But, Danny Garcia, I feel like 154-pounds might be a little too much for him.”
Despite Lubin’s words, Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs) seamlessly adjusted to life against bigger foes. Forced to take on a fighter in Benavidez who dwarfed him in the ring, Garcia effortlessly boxed circles around his man, leading to a unanimous decision win on the night.
Ultimately, however, Lubin (24-2, 17 KOs) believes that the praise Garcia has garnered for his performance should be tempered down to a certain degree, considering his opponent.
“I’m not necessarily calling him (Benavidez) a soft, soft touch but he’s not one of the top guys in this division. We don’t really give him the respect that we might give a Charlo, or Castano, or myself.”
Lubin, 27, is anxiously awaiting the call to pencil in his next fight date. Following six consecutive victories, the soft-spoken contender saw his win streak come to an end at the hands of Sebastian Fundora. Although presently, Lubin is still in search of his next opponent, he’s brazenly placed a target on the back of Garcia as he hopes they’ll eventually be paired against one another.
“If Danny wants to be considered one of the top guys in the division, then I think he should face one of the top guys, like myself, like Charlo, like Tim Tszyu, or one of the top guys. That’s a fight that I would like to make happen. I definitely wanna make it happen.”