Garcia vs Granados Live:
Danny Garcia and Adrian Granados are officially set for Saturday
night’s PBC on FOX main event from Carson, Calif., a fight that’s flying
under the radar but is a solid alternative to the Crawford-Khan
pay-per-view from ESPN.
Garcia vs Granados Live
Garcia (34-2, 20 KO) came in at 146¾,
with Granados (20-6-2, 14 KO) at 146, both below the 147-pound limit.
Garcia talked a fair amount this week about the issues with getting
older and cutting down to 147, but he’s also said all week that his body
feels strong and he wouldn’t have any real trouble actually making
weight, and it doesn’t appear he did.
Granados, best-known as a tough underdog
for matchups like this, is looking to finally break through with a big
win. Both have talked a good game leading up, now we see if they turn in
the performances on Saturday night.
In the FOX co-feature, heavyweights Andy
Ruiz Jr (31-1, 20 KO) and Alexander Dimitrenko (41-4, 26 KO) are set for
10 rounds, in what will be Ruiz’s first fight with PBC after a career
with Top Rank.
Ruiz’s conditioning has been talked about
plenty over his career, for obvious reasons. In his first two fights,
he weighed in just shy of 300 pounds, then got more serious about things
as time went on. But he’s always been considered, uh, chunky. There was
talk this week about him having hired conditioning coaches and personal
chefs and all this.
He weighed in at 262 for this fight,
which is actually his highest weight since 2014. That’s three pounds
more than Dimitrenko weighed, and Dimitrenko is five inches taller than
Ruiz. This is not to say Ruiz hasn’t been more or less dedicated,
because he doesn’t look particularly different than ever, really, just
that his weight is always going to be what it is, basically. He’s still
the clear favorite to win this fight.
When comparing the names, resumes and
skills of the top welterweight fighters of today with previous eras,
it’s not hard to summarize that we are entering historic times for the
147-pound division.
Former two-division champion Danny Garcia
knows that all too well and certainly has his sights set on
opportunities against the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Errol Spence Jr.,
or in big-money rematches against Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter. Garcia
also considers himself the division’s top dog from a brand standpoint,
at the moment, and has both television and attendance ratings holstered
up to share with any who disagree.