The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. hosts a big time boxing card on Saturday, April 11. The main event features WBA and WBC Super Lightweight World Champion Danny Garcia facing IBF Super Lightweight title-holder Lamont Peterson over 12 rounds at a catchweight with no titles on the line. Right now, the books have Peterson a +260 underdog, as Garcia is returning at -320.
At 29-0, Garcia is the undefeated wiz kid, while Peterson (33-2-1) is a veteran who has won some big fights in his career but a stoppage loss to Lucas Martin Matthysse and a failed drug test have kept him from moving to the forefront of boxing’s big earners. For Garcia, the bout is seen as a trasition to the heavier weight classes where he too hopes to break into the big money that has eluded him thus far.
The co-main event has the WBO Middleweight world title on the line as Andy Lee makes his first title defense as he faces undefeated Peter Quillin (31-0) of Brooklyn. Quillin has come in as the -300 favorite, with the comeback on Lee at +250.
Lee is an improbable champion, as he won the belt in December with a win as an underdog over then undefeated Matt Korobov. Lee was behind on the cards when he caught Korobov with a right hook that signalled the end. The winner of this match is likely heading into a big unification bout with middleweight kingpin Gennady Golovkin sometime later in the year. Lee is not intimidated by the undefeated record of Quillin, as Korobov had one of those two, and facing Quillin in his native Brooklyn should not be a worry either, as he was on the road in Vegas when he won the world title.
For Quillin, however, who is fighting at home and coming in as a favorite, this match has the feel of a coronation, and as long as he does not get caught by Lee and his big right hand, he should be able to cruise his way to the win.
The live event features nine fights including a match between undefeated ladies Heather Hardy (12-0) and Renata Domsodi (12-0) for a WBC regional belt. Undefeated Viktor Postol (26-0), Felix Diaz (16-0) and Errol Spence Jr (15-0) and seasoned veteran Luis Collazo (35-6) are all on the card as well.
