Not many people have forgotten the controversial decision that was Danny Garcia-Mauricio Herrera that took place this past March. Herrera did not get the benefit of the doubt with the Puerto Rican judges and many felt Garcia escaped with a hometown decision.
Herrera returns this July looking to keep his momentum going when he takes on Johan Perez for the interim 140 lb. WBA title on the Canelo-Lara undercard. In this bout, Herrera is looking to change things up a bit and look exciting.
“I think at this point, I’m going to put my punches more together and put pressure on Johan and certainly look for a knockout if it comes. I mean I’m on one of the biggest cards of the year so I definitely want to put on a show,” Herrera told ThaBoxingVoice.com.
A show and a boxing lesson is what he felt he gave Danny Garcia and the Puerto Rican fans a few months back. A loss is never good but in some cases a lot can be gained from a controversial loss and Herrera feels that’s exactly what happened.
“I thought I won but I’ve gotten tough decisions before but this one definitely got me out there more. People definitely thought I won. My social media was full of nothing but support and that’s one of the reason Golden Boy brought me back quick. It’s never good to take a loss but there was positive that came out of that loss,” stated Herrera.
When news broke this week that Garcia was going to take on unknown Rod Salka as the main event on August 9th at the Barclays Center, Herrera was less than enthused.
“I already had a fight signed but when I heard of that fight, I laughed,” explained Herrera. He’s defending my belts in that fashion. Garcia is definitely not honoring the titles by taking on that type of competition. It’s almost like he’s taking a step back. I beat him, he knows I beat him, and I didn’t even get much a phone call to see if he wanted a rematch.”
Herrera may get his crack at Garcia if he doesn’t move up because this fight is for the interim WBA title, an organization that has Garcia as it’s Super Champion. Other fights were offered to Herrera but he says this is the path he wants to take to get the titles he feels are his on his shoulder.
“I was offered a Guerrero fight at 147 but it was for no title and I had to move up. This fight sets me up with the path I want at 140. If I beat Perez, I’ll be on the radar for Garcia. That’s what I want. I want to get my titles and July 12th is a step in that direction.”
