Tonight (Saturday, April 11, 2015) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York big–time boxing takes center stage as undefeated Danny Garcia (29-0) clashes with the dangerous Lamont Peterson (33-2-1) at a catch-weight of 143 lbs. Peterson is the IBF Super Lightweight Champion and Garcia holds the Super Lightweight titles of the WBC and WBA, but the catch-weight agreement means none of the titles are on the line. Though some of the potential bling around a unification bout between two champions is not there, the match is still rife with tension as the move up to the welterweight class shows both men are trying to take the next step towards big fights and cross-over appeal. Right now at the sport books, the line sees Garcia favored at (-380), with the return on Peterson sitting at (+315) , and there is no over/under for this one. Garcia is 27 years old, and he already has put together a terrific resume that includes two wins over future Hall of Famer Erik Morales and wins over Zab Judah and Amir Khan. He is a perfect (6-0) in world title fights and he has a long and decorated amateur career. Garcia fought his last fight at a catch-weight of 142 lbs, as he knocked out Rod Salka last August. On that same card, which was also at the Barclay’s Center, Lamont Peterson stopped Edgar Santana to retain his IBF Super Lightweight belt. In December of 2011, Peterson defeated Amir Khan in a fight he anticipated would propel him to the big time. Unfortunately for Peterson, he failed a drug test in the build up to a re-match with Khan and the ensuing suspension saw him to watch all of 2012 from the sidelines. Since then, he is (3-1) with his loss coming to the rugged Lucas Martin Mathysse of Argentina. A win over Garcia for the 31 year old Peterson would help him re-set an upward trajectory to his career. The WBO World Middleweight title owned by Ireland’s Andy Lee is on the line as he faces the former titleholder Peter Quillin. Quillin is an undefeated (31-0), and he held and defended the WBO belt from October of 2012 until April of last year, when he vacated the belt after defeating Lukas Konecny. This last December, Lee captured the vacant belt when he came from behind to stop undefeated Matt Korobov in the 6th round of their title bout. The question is can Lee capture lightning in a bottle and defeat a second undefeated fighter in a row? Like with Korobov, Lee is coming in as the underdog for this fight, paying (+270), with Quillin favored at (-330). This fight, scheduled for 12 rounds, has an over/under set at 11 ½, with the over at (-105), and the under paying (-125). One of the undercard fights scheduled for 10 rounds between Errol Spence Jr and Samuel Vargas sees Spence Jr a big favorite at (-2300), with Vargas coming back at (+1100). Spence is a decorated amateur who has run his pro record to (15-0). Known as “The Truth”, the 25 year old southpaw has been very active, fighting five times in 2014 and seven times in 2013. Vargas is (20-1-1) and he is riding a five fight winning streak heading into this bout. The main fights will air on NBC in the United States, and the live event features nine matches total. Experienced welterweight Luis Collazo (35-6) is still awaiting an opponent, and several other undefeated prospects are on the card. Viktor Postol (26-0) faces Jake Giuriceo (17-2-1) and Felix Diaz (16-0) meets Gabriel Bracero (23-1) are just two of the matches worth watching. Also, the WBC International female super bantamweight title is on the line as Heather Hardy (12-0) faces Renata Domsodi (12-0) in an 8 rounder.
