By Tom Donelson (BWAA)
A contributor to dmboxing.com since 2008 / Author, Member Boxing Writers Association of America

On Saturday night, while Terrence Crawford was preparing to enter the ring against Amir Khan, Danny Garcia had already put on a show by pounding Adrian Granados, a tough fighter who never been stopped and came into the fight with a reputation as a pressure fighter who threw punches in bunches.  First round saw Granados do what he does best, box and then move forward while throwing volume of punches, winning the first round on my card.

Second round saw the fight turn badly for Granados as halfway through the round, Garcia threw the short left hook that sent Granados down.  Garcia continued to press the action as Granados looked wobbly.  With seconds left in the round, Garcia launched a right hand that sent Granados down.  Garcia dominated the action in both the third and fourth round as he pressured Granados and throwing the most accurate punches.  Granados was not throwing punches in bunches but fought in survival mode as he moved away from Garcia. 

Garcia sent Granados a third time in the fifth round and Granados’ corner was ready to pull the plug after the round as Garcia was chopping Granados apart.  Granados changed strategy  in the sixth round and for the first two minutes,  he crowded Garcia to minimize Garcia power but Garcia adjusted as he moved a couple of steps back to give him enough space to counter.  Over last minute, Garcia nailed Granados with several big shots and there was very doubt how this fight was going.  The Fox team had the scorecard 50-42 and I had it 49-43 so there was no real doubt about the scoring.

Garcia ended the fight in the seventh round as he trapped Granados, landing with a big shots before Referee stopped the fight.  This was the best I have seen Garcia in a long time and he sent a message to the rest of the division that he is back and ready to rumble with the best of the  division.

The Welterweight is loaded at the top beginning with Terrance Crawford who simply dominated Amir Khan.  (David Martinez, which my blogs appear on dmboxing, told me prior to the fight that he saw this as a one sided affair and he was certainly right.)  Crawford easy victory now opens up Welterweight for a semi play-off where the best started fighting each other.  Thurman, Porter, Garcia, Spence, Crawford are all excellent fighters and then there is Pacquiao whose at 40 still provides big dollar potential for those willing to fight him.

As for Crawford, more print was spent on the ending in which Khan corner essentially threw in the towel while he was recovering from an accidental low blow but Crawford was headed for a victory and Khan’s corner knew that.

And, Garcia sent his own message that he is a contender ready to capture his title back and there is enough talent to have some great fights if promoters allow those fights to happen.