Reigning WBC welterweight champ Danny Garcia’s next bout has been confirmed: he will face Canadian-based Colombian Samuel Vargas in Philadelphia on November 12. The fight will be a non-title affair. Garcia, 32-0(18) has been somewhat disappointing in his choice of opposition lately – with fights against the likes of Rod Salka, Paulie Malignaggi and now Vargas cluttering his CV. Fans are certain to be far from happy with the choice of Vargas, 25-2-1(13) in what will be “Swift’s” second and final fight of 2016.
The good news, though, is Garcia, if victorious next month (and he will win, unless we see a candidate for Upset of The Decade) will likely face WBA welterweight king Keith Thurman in a big unification showdown sometime in the first quarter of next year. This is the word according to reports anyway. But first comes the fight against 27-year-old Vargas, in what can only really be called a tune-up bout for Garcia, primed and peaking as he is at age 28.
Who knows what we can expect.
Vargas is not a bad fighter, he has been stopped just once and he has fought good European level fighters. The biggest fight of Vargas’ career saw him go in with a 15-0 Errol Spence Junior in April of last year, when he was stopped in the 4th-round. Other than that, there is nothing too noteworthy on Vargas’ record. The other loss on Vargas’ record came when he was out-pointed by Pablo Munguia in 2013. Vargas has boxed in both Canada and the US, as well as in Mexico, but there is nothing much else to say about him.
Really, Garcia has no business wasting time fighting a guy like this. We could even see a mismatch to rival the ghastly affair Garcia had with the terribly overmatched Salka back in August of 2014. At least Vargas is a welterweight, even having fought some bouts as a super-welter. If Garcia DOES follow this non-event of a fight with a potential super-fight with Thurman, chances are he will be largely forgiven. But if Garcia beats Vargas and then fails to sign for Thurman, fans could really turn against him.
There was a time when Garcia was looked at as one of the most impressive young fighters out there. Maybe the two-time champ will restore faith in his fans with that Thurman fight and then further big fights after that. If not, Garcia will run the risk of being remembered as a largely unfulfilled talent.
