Thurman takes Garcia's title with split decision victory
By John J. Raspanti
WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman (28-0, 22 KOs) captured a 12 round split decision over WBC titleholder Danny Garcia (33-1, 19 KOs) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY Saturday night.
The scores were 116-112 for Thurman, 115-113 for Garcia, and 115-113 for Thurman.
Maxboxing scored the fight 115-113 for Thurman.
The battle of champions was close throughout with Thurman landing the harder shots, while Garcia went to the body with authority. Thurman realized pretty early in the bout that he could outbox Garcia. He stuck to this strategy throughout the last half of the fight. This approach cost him some rounds--and maybe some fans.
But a win is a win.
Thurman built up a lead in the early going, using his faster hands and feet. He clocked Garcia with a couple of right hands in the opening stanza that seemed to bother the Philadelphia native.
Garcia picked up the pace in the second half of the fight. Thurman battled back evenly, making the rounds hard to judge. Garcia was still waiting to much. He lacked urgency.
Thurman promised before the fight he would jab more. He did, throwing more punches—which appeared to give him the lead on this writer’s scorecard. Garcia needed to cut off the ring, but instead was jolted by a number of uppercuts.
The last few rounds were more of the same. Thurman was quicker, but Garcia finally picked up the pace. He fired a double jab. Garcia connected with a good right that got Thurman’s attention.
“I thought we had a nice lead,” said Thurman in the ring. “I felt like we were controlling the fight. There were some close rounds to score.”
“I came up short tonight,” said Garcia, who lost for the first time in his career. ”I thought I won the fight. It is what it is.”
A rematch isn’t necessary.
There’s an old adage in boxing that says, ’Styles make fights’
Thurman and Garcia fought hard and clean. The better man won.
But their bout wasn’t the instant classic many hoped it would be.
Check back with Maxboxing.com for more articles on this fight and many more.
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