Former world champion in two weight classes Danny "Swift" Garcia made a successful junior middleweight debut this Saturday with a majority vote win over Jose Benavidez Jr. in the main event of a boxing evening in Brooklyn, USA. Thus, after winning the championship titles in super lightweight and welterweight, Garcia made his debut at 69 kg after an almost 20-month break.
“I took a break, I had mental problems, things went downhill, I experienced anxiety, deep depression, but I still tried to be strong,” Garcia said emotionally after the fight. “Life was pressing on me. I wanted to be a good father. It's nice to release it right now, because it's all stuck inside. For a year and a half it was very hard for me, and the only way to achieve more for me, as it turned out, was to fight again. I am a fighter. If you're struggling with anxiety and depression, you can get out of this, just like I did today. I didn't give up."
After the fight, Garcia also thanked his father and trainer Angel Garcia for sticking by his side throughout his battle with anxiety and depression.
“Angel was with me the whole time,” Garcia added. “I am nothing without this person. I thank him every day. People ask me all the time why am I fighting? I make enough money. Why is Warren Buffett still making money? I am a fighter. This is what I do, what I love to do."
“I would like to have a rematch with Keith Thurman, he took my “0” in the defeat column from me,” Garcia said. "I would also like to fight Erislandy Lara for the middleweight title, but at a catchweight of 155 pounds."
