Weights from Brooklyn for Danny Garcia-Jose Benavidez Jr.

Danny Garcia and Jose Benavidez Jr. stare down after making 154 for their Showtime fight on Saturday at Barclays Center (Photo by Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME).

Jul

by Joseph Santoliquito |

After a 19-month, 26-day layoff from the ring, Danny “Swift” Garcia returns this Saturday to make his junior middleweight debut against Jose Benavidez Jr. to headline the Showtime tripleheader (9pm ET/6pm PT) in a 12-round main event from Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, in a Premier Boxing Champions event.

Garcia (36-3, 21 knockouts) is 34 and realizes the end of his career is far closer than the beginning. The 30-year-old Benavidez Jr. (27-1-1, 18 KOs) is coming off an eight-month layoff and is 1-1-1 over his last three fights, which includes falling by 10-round knockout to WBO welterweight titlist and pound-for-pound entrant Terence “Bud” Crawford in October 2018.

Both fighters weighed in on Friday on a card that also features a 10-round heavyweight clash between Adam Kownacki (20-2, 15 KOs) and Ali Eren Demirezen (16-1, 12 KOs) and a 10-round junior welterweight bout between former U.S. Olympian Gary Antuanne Russell (15-0, 15 KOs) and Rances Barthelemy (29-1-1, 15 KOs).

Here are the weights:

Junior Middleweights – 12 Rounds

Danny Garcia (36-3, 21 KOs) 152¾ pounds vs. Jose Benavidez Jr. (27-1-1, 18 KOs), 153¾ pounds

Heavyweights – 10 Rounds

Adam Kownacki (20-2, 15 KOs), 251¼ pounds vs. Ali Eren Demirezen (16-1, 12 KOs), 262¾ pounds

Junior Welterweights – 10 Rounds

Gary Antuanne Russell (15-0, 15 KOs), 137¾ pounds vs. Rances Barthelemy (29-1-1, 15 KOs), 139½ pounds

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on twitter @JSantoliquito.