--NEW YORK Danny Garcia defended his WBC and WBA light welterweight titles against Rod Salka Saturday night in Brooklyn's Barclays Center with a knockout victory, improving his record to 29-0-0 with 17 knockouts.
Garcia sent Salka to the canvas three times in Round 2, and when asked afterward by Showtime's Jim Gray about fighting Lamont Peterson to unify the division next, Garcia responded "If he wants it he can get it too."
The matchup with Salka was widely panned by fans and critics, but despite that Garcia was able to provide a satisfying result.
Salka was knocked down twice in Round 2 but managed to remain standing. Garcia then landed a hard shot, followed by Salka pounding his chest as if to ask for more. Garcia proceeded to rock him again with a left hook that ended the fight for good. Salka crashed to the mat and his corner immediately threw in the towel.
Garcia landed 43 percent of his 117 punches, and connected on 52 percent of his power shots. Salka wasn't very active, throwing just 69 punches in total and landing a meager 14 percent of them. 42 of those 69 punches were jabs, as the naturally smaller Salka appeared intimidated by Garcia's power from the get-go.
Garcia's dominance came after a thorough performance by Peterson, the IBF light welterweight champion, and will most likely lead to a unification bout between the two.
The multiple knockouts were necessary for Garcia, after a subpar performance in Puerto Rico vs. Mauricio Herrera. The controversial win over Herrera seemed to slow the momentum he had built up for himself with a string of victories against well-known opponents.
Garcia also seems to be making the Barclays Center a "home away from home" as he's called it; Saturday night's win was his third in Brooklyn, and his second by way of knockout.
Main Undercard
Lamont Peterson vs. Edgar Santana
Santana proved his durability in front of a supportive Brooklyn audience, but Peterson gave a boxing lesson in defense of his IBF light welterweight title. Peterson used vicious body shots, constant movement, and a bevy of power shots to the head as well to earn a TKO victory with 11 seconds to go in Round 10 of a one-sided title fight.
Daniel Jacobs vs. Jarrod Fletcher
Daniel Jacobs gave the hometown fans what they wanted by stopping Fletcher in Round 5. Fletcher had been having his best round of the fight, but Jacobs heavy punches took too great a toll. Jacobs is now the WBA middleweight champion. After the win he called out "Kid Chocolate" Peter Quillin and said he wants to stage the fight in Brooklyn, where both fighters hail from.
Showtime Extreme
Sadam Ali vs. Jeremy Bryan
Sadam Ali fought in front of a supportive Brooklyn crowd and gutted out a difficult split decision victory. He was knocked wobbly in the fourth round but recovered and scored a key knockdown in Round 9. Two judges ringside scored it 96-93 in favor of Ali, while a third had it 96-93 for Bryan. SWN scored the bout 95-94 in favor of Ali.
Zachary Ochoa vs. Luis Cervantes
Ochoa cruised for the first three rounds before the bout became a dogfight. Cervantes ramped up his pressure and forced Ochoa to the corners for the second half of the fight, but Ochoa did enough to maintain his perfect record with a unanimous decision. The three judges scored the fight 60-54, 60-54, and 59-55 in favor of Ochoa. SWN had it 58-56 in favor of Ochoa.
Anthony Peterson vs. Edgar Riovalle
Anthony Peterson, the brother of co-feature fighter Lamont Peterson, won impressively against Riovalle via first round knockout. Peterson flashed a sharp left jab, quick reflexes that allowed him to dodge or block almost everything Riovalle threw, and big power by stopping him with a hard right hook.
Premliminary Bouts
Marcus Browne vs. Paul Vazquez
Browne remained undefeated with a 28-second knockout of Vazquez. From the opening bell Browne swarmed his overwhelmed opponent, flooring him with a combination of body and head shots that forced the referee to call a quick end to it.
Prichard Colon vs. Lenwood Dozier
Undefeated Prichard Colon cruised to victory over Lenwood Dozier, although he failed to knock his opponent out for the first time in his career. Colon was accurate in the six-round bout and able to land hard body shots throughout. Despite not getting the KO, Colon impressed. The judges scores were all 60-54 in favor of Colon; SWN also scored it 60-54 for Colon.
D'Mitrius Ballard vs. Barry Trotter
Ballard stopped Trotter in Round 1 to improve to 6-0 with five knockouts. Referee Tony Chiarantano was forced to step in after Ballard cornered Trotter and unleashed a vicious flurry of shots.
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