Danny Garcia has reached the pinnacle of boxing, having won world titles in two divisions.
Now, with the end of his career near, he’s shifted his focus to trying to develop stars of his own under his promotion. Garcia will put on his biggest card to date under the Swift Promotions banner on Oct. 18 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and he'll face Daniel Gonzalez in the main event on Millions.co.
“I always had a dream of being a world champion,” Garcia told
The Ring. “I always had a dream of promoting other fighters, giving other fighters a platform, building other fighters up and making somebody else's dream come true. That's really what it is. Putting a smile on the fighter's face and trying my best to make a champion because I know how it feels. I know how it feels to be at the top. I know how it feels for somebody to help you like how Al Haymon helped me. I want to try to help somebody like that.”
“I can’t underestimate my opponent,” Garcia said. “This is an opportunity of a lifetime for him. I’ve got to go in there with the classy Danny Garcia mindset. Put that work in with the killer instinct [and] killer mindset. There's no reason why I shouldn't be motivated. This is my show, Swift Promotions, I'm the promoter, I'm the boss, I know what I'm getting myself into, and everything's just motivated me to be a king that day.”
Garcia (37-4, 21 KOs), a former two-division champion at junior welterweight and welterweight, began Swift Promotions in 2024 and has put on small shows in the build-up to Oct. 18. Among the fighters who are in his stable and will fight on the undercard is Quincey Williams (5-0, 5 KOs), who is a 2021 Pan American Games Champion, Cristian Cangelosi (11-0, 5 KOs) and Matthew Gonzalez (15-1-1, 10 KOs). Garcia also promotes 16-year-old David Garcia (4-0, 3 KOs) of Phoenix, Arizona.
The juggling act between fighter and promoter won’t be a problem for Garcia, as his full attention is on facing Gonzalez of Queens, New York.
“Right now, everything’s done,” Garcia said. “As a promoter, you’ve got to make sure the lights are up — I showed up to a fight and no lights were up in the arena. Everything is locked in. Everybody's getting matched up. Everything's already locked and loaded. All I have to do right now is just focus on being a fighter.”
The Oct. 18 card marks a significant milestone in more ways than one for Garcia. While it’s the most significant event he has promoted with Swift Promotions, it’ll also mark his last fight at the Barclays Center. Garcia is 7-2 with three knockouts in the arena, including victories over former champions Lamont Peterson, Paulie Malignaggi, Zab Judah and International Boxing Hall of Famer Erik Morales.
“It's definitely my home in boxing,” Garcia said. “It's something about the Barclays Center. I always say that's the best arena. [There’s] something special about that place. It was like love at first sight.”