In talking with Sporting News early last week, former welterweight champion Danny Garcia continuously said his first career loss to unified champion Keith Thurman last March was in the past. He promised all focus shifted to Brandon Rios.
Garcia (35-1, 21 KOs) lived up to the promise, stopping Rios by TKO at 2:05 of the ninth round in the main event of the Premier Boxing Champions event. Sporting News had the fight scored 78-74 for Garcia before the stoppage.
“I took the loss like a true champion and I came back like a champion," Garcia told Jim Gray during his post-fight interview. "I would love a rematch with Keith Thurman but it's on him. Whenever he's ready."
The fight was close for six rounds until Garcia went back to using his right hand which had set everything up for him in the opening rounds. It was in final sequence of the fight when Garcia feinted a left hand and blasted Rios to the mat with the right. Rios got up wobbly and tried to fool referee Kenny Bayless into thinking he could continue but Bayless had seen enough and waved it off.
"He was standing in front of me and I just let it go," Garcia said. "I let the straight right hand go. I wasn't looking for that shot. I was just boxing. I was letting my hands go and just like every other knockout, I let my hands go and the shot lands."
BOOM. Fight is over. @DannySwift is victorious in the 9th. #GarciaRios pic.twitter.com/cuvekhAKfy
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) February 18, 2018
Things got interesting when Garcia and Gray were talking about the win. Former IBF welteweight titleholder Shawn Porter entered the ring and got into a confrontation with Garcia and ended up challenging him to a fight. Porter had to held back by his father and security while Garcia continued to taunt him. Grey took control of the situation telling Porter to leave while he went on to interview Rios.
😆😆 Shawn Porter & Danny Garcia
— DJ (@DJfourReal_) February 18, 2018
Porter pulled a Shane Mosley 😆 pic.twitter.com/5iJbVkdEOb
The situation at welterweight is an intriguing one. Thurman returns on May 19 but has stated it will be a tune-up fight as he comes back from elbow surgery. Current IBF titleholder Errol Spence returns in June likely in his hometown of Dallas against a top-10 foe.
Especially after what happened on Saturday night, Garcia-Porter would be the one to make.
Rios (34-4-1, 25 KOs) now has lost two of his last three contests.
Here was our coverage of Garcia vs. Rios.
12:55: Round 8 to Garcia (10-9, 78-74). The same scenario happened in this round like the previous one. Garcia is able to go from defense to offense while Rios gets stuck.
12:51: Round 7 to Garcia (10-9, 68-65). As Rios started to gain momentum, Garcia stole it right back. He went back to what got him ahead in the fight, lateral movement and the lead right hand. Rios needs to get back to being active and getting into the inside.
12:47: Round 6 to Rios (10-9, 58-56). Rios is starting to slowly gain control of the fight. He kept Garcia against the ropes and connecting on combination. He was very aggressive and even started to see the jab. Is the 11-month layoff starting to effect Garcia?
12:44: Round 5 to Garcia (10-9, 49-46). When Garcia keeps this fight in the middle of the ring, it's his fight. If he stays on the ropes, Rios has been finding a home shots to the body.
12:40: Round 4 to Garcia (10-9, 39-37). Rios was controlling the round being more active. Then, Garcia started finding a home with his right hand and appeared to gain confidence as the round came to a close. This is pretty fun here.
12:35: Round 3 to Garcia (10-9, 29-28). Very entertaining. Garcia and Rios had their moments of landing hard shots but Garcia landed more of them. If this is what we are going to see for however long it lasts, this is going to be exciting.
12:32: Round 2 to Rios (10-9, 19-19). Rios woke up here by getting into the inside, getting into the inside and cutting off the ring. Garcia needs to get back to the jab and combinations.
12:28: Round 1 to Garcia (10-9). Unlike the Thurman fight, Garcia came out the aggressor. He established the jab and fired off combinations. Rios looked slow. Needs to get on the inside in where he can do his best work.
12:15: Really cool to see the acknowledge of the first responders of the tragic shootings last year in Las Vegas.
12:05 a.m.: It's time for the main event as Danny Garcia clashes with Brandon Rios in a WBC welterweight title eliminator. Garcia feels like he has something to prove coming off his first ever loss. Rios has only fought one time in almost two years. If Garcia and Rios do what made them former world champions, we should be in for a treat.
David Benavidez decimates Ronald Gavril to retain title
11:57: Benavidez def. Gavril by unanimous decision (120-108, 120-108, 119-109) to retain his WBC super middleweight title. A masterful performance by Benavidez. For someone whose only 21 years of age, Benavidez is something special. He has every attribute to be an all-time great. He's only going to continue to get better. Gavril showed a lot of heart when a lot of fighters would have quit.
11:54: Round 12 to Gavril (10-9, 119-109). Have to give Gavril a ton of credit. He could have packed it in but he continued to move forward. Gavril landed some solid right hands which made you think for a moment he had a shot. But all it does is win a round. Benavidez should get the decision victory.
11:51: Round 11 to Benavidez (10-9, 110-99). Before the round began, the ringside doctor checked on Gavril and for some reason allowed him to continue. Gavril needs a miracle.
11:46: Round 10 to Benavidez (10-9, 100-90). Even though he sligthly took the foot off the gas pedal, Benavidez still won mainly using the jab. Think Benavidez realizes he's thrown everything at Gavril and not being able to put him away.
11:42: Round 9 to Benavidez (10-9, 90-81). Another dominat round for Benavidez. He's throwing everything and at will. Not only is he throwing but he's connecting the majority of the time. He's not taking the foot off the pedal.
11:38: Round 8 to Benavidez (10-9, 80-72). Benavidez changed it up and started going to the body. He blasted Gavril on numerous occasions with shots to the middle of the body and then go the liver. Have to Gavril a lot of credit. He keeps standing in front of Benavidez and throwing everything he's got. His corner should start thinking about stopping the fight. There's virtually no chance of victory at this point. Safety should be of primary concern.
11:34: Round 7 to Benavidez (10-9, 70-63). Why doesn't Gavril try to stay on the inside and throw combinations? When he does, it's effective. He's thrown over 400 punches but not many effective shots. Anytime Gavril does anything, Benavidez turns it on with three, four-punch combinations. A sight to see.
11:31: Round 6 to Benavidez (10-9, 60-54). This was Gavril's best round of the fight but it was still Benavidez's round. The composure and poise of Benavidez is something to see. You normally see this from 10-15 year veterans of the sport. Not from someone whose been fighting professionally for only four-and-half years.
11:26: Round 5 to Benavidez (10-9, 50-45). Gavril finally started to pump out the jab, use lateral movement and go to the inside with some success. Benavidez though continued going forward with combinations starting with the left hook which is battering Gavril's face.
11:23: Round 4 to Benavidez (10-9, 40-36). Great round for Benavidez. He nearly finished Gavril with a right uppercut followed by a left hook, which sent Gavril staggering against the ropes. Benadivdez continued to connect on vicious combinations. Gavril needs to start using the jab and try to somehow keep Benavidez at bay. He's making himself predictable. It's costing him dearly. If he doesn't adjust, the fight will be over shortly.
11:18: Round 3 to Benavidez (10-9, 30-27). Very entertaining round. Gavril finally took the leap of going to the inside, ripping the body which proved to be effective. Benavidez though weathered the storm and went back to work with the jab and throwing combinations. Unbelievable poise for someone whose only 21-years-old and not getting frustrated when he started to face some adversity..
11:14: Round 2 to Benavidez (10-9, 20-18). Much of the same as we saw in the opening round. Benavidez continued to utilize the jab while Gavril doesn't have an answer. In the final minute of the round, Benavidez stunned Gavril with a right hand and moments later, moved Gavril back with another right hand. Nice to see Benavidez not just rest on the jab and slowly starting to show more in the arsenal. Gavril needs to not be afraid to move in and see what he can do.
11:10: Round 1 to Benavidez (10-9). Benavidez came out the aggressor and set the tone early on with the jab followed by the right hand. Gavril showed some life with about a minute left in the round. If Benavidez continues to pop the jab at will, it will be a long night for Gavril.
10:57: Up next in the co-main event of Garcia vs. Rios, in a rematch for the WBC super middleweight championship, David Benavidez defends the title against Ronald Gavril. They iniitally fought in September with Benavidez winning a controversial split decision. Benavidez at the age of 21 is the youngest world champion in boxing and in division history actually requested the rematch. Before the loss, Gavril had won seven consecutive fights. Their first outing was all-action and don't be surprised if we see the same thing here.
Who's currently tuning into @ShowtimeBoxing for co-main event of the night, rematch of @RonaldGavril vs. @Benavidez300 ? Be ready to see an all out WAR 💥 #BenavidezGavril2 pic.twitter.com/1waMQSCp6r
— MayweatherPromotions (@MayweatherPromo) February 18, 2018
10:53: What an incredible lineup of fights on Showtime through June featuring the likes of Deontay Wilder vs. Luis Ortiz, Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker and the returns of Keith Thurman and Errol Spence. Jr.
Yordenis Ugas stops Ray Robinson
10:45: Ugas def. Robinson by TKO at 1:05 of the seventh round. Great win for Ugas. After scoring the knockdown, Ugas had Robinson ripe for the taking. He connected with a series of left and right hands. Referee Robert Byrd had seen enough and put a halt to the action. Ugas has now won six consecutive fights. While he shouldn't face Errol Spence next, Ugas is a fight or two away.
10:43: Ugas knocks down Robinson with a right hand. Robinson gets up at the count of eight. Byrd tells Robinson he needs to show him something or the fight will be stopped.
10:42: Halfway through the fight and it has been all Ugas. His power has been the difference so far. He's won every round thus far and up by eight points with Robinson getting the point taken away and being knocked down in the opening round. Robinson needs to pick it up quickly or he's going to be in a world of trouble.
10:38: Surprised we aren't seeing Robinson trying to take more risks. He's connecting but nothing of significance. Needs to start throwing more power shots.
10:33: An entertaining fourth round as the fight stayed on the inside almost turned ugly at the end of the stanza. The bell to end the round had sounded and Ugas hit Robinson. Not being happy about the matter, Robinson knocked Ugas down with a left hand. Referee Robert Byrd deducted a point from Robinson, much to the dismay of the crowd. Ugas had already won the round but now he's up by six points.
10:28: Surprised to see Robinson stay in the pocket instead of coming in and out, using lateral movement. Ugas is tagging Robinson at will. Ugas' won the opening three rounds not including the knockdown in the first. Robinson needs to pick it up quickly if he wants to remain in this fight.
10:25: Shocked to see so many people in the crowd already for an opening fight in Las Vegas, which tends to be a very late arriving crowd.
10:21: With 47 seconds left in the opening round, Ugas drops Robinson with an overhand right hand. Robinson hits the deck for the third time in his career. The knockdown seemed to ignite Robinson as he finally started to exchange with Ugas in the final moments of the round.
10:17: In the opening bout of Garcia vs. Rios, in welterweight action, Ray Robinson faces Yordenis Ugas in an IBF title eliminator. The winner will be getting shot at current titleholder, Errol Spence Jr. Robinson rides a 13-fight winning streak while Ugas has strung together five consecutive victories. How do fighters ranked No. 11 and 14 respectively get to be in this type of fight?
10:05: Ladies and gentleman, it is time for main card coverage of Garcia vs. Rios. Grab the popcorn, some drinks and settle in for what should be an amazing night of fights. Always enjoy the Showtime opening package with the final shot being Mike Tyson.
9:40: We are inching closer to the main card. Here is an interesting video on Garcia as he reflects on his loss 11 months ago to Keith Thurman. Good to see him open up a bit as that has been a constant knock on Garcia throughout the years.
8:20: The Garcia vs. Rios main card in less than two hours. Let's take a look back at the first fight between Benavidez and Gavril in September, which the former won by a controversial split decision. Who do you think won?
5:35: We are inching closer to Garcia vs. Rios. Here's a preview from Premier Boxing Champions of the co-main event featuring a rematch between David Benavidez and Ronald Gavril for the WBC super middleweight championship and the main event.
Former World Champs square off in a 147-pound title eliminator and a 168-pound World Championship is on the line TONIGHT on #PBConSHOWTIME.
— PBC (@premierboxing) February 17, 2018
Watch LIVE ON @ShowtimeBoxing at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT. #GarciaRios #BenavidezGavril2
FIGHT PREVIEW 📰: https://t.co/ikU77qGWb6 pic.twitter.com/BeJrbM3Jfj
12:45: Hello, fight fans, I'm Steven Muehlhausen of Sporting News. In a few hours, former two-division world champion Danny Garcia will face former lightweight champ Brandon Rios in a 12-round WBC title eliminator from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Garcia vs. Rios undercard results
- Joe Spencer def. Uriel Gonzalez by second round stoppage
- Jonathan Esquivel def. Cameron Burroughs by second round stoppage
- Sulaiman Segawa def. Brian Gallegos by split decision
- Ladarius Miller def. Carlos Padilla by second round knockout
Steven Muehlhausen is an MMA and boxing writer and contributor for Sporting News. You can listen to his podcast, "The Fight Club Chicago," here . You can email him at [email protected] and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA .