“What Garcia is as a fighter brings one of those aforementioned fictions into play. Garcia is often described as an unremarkable fighter, one who, while excelling at few facets of boxing is proficient enough at most to get over on the unpolished types who dominate the sport. The more Garcia fights, however, the less he appears to deserve the second part of that description—the more he looks like merely an unremarkable fighter. That this reevaluation throws shade on the merits of his opponents perhaps also explains some of the vitriol directed at Garcia, who is nothing special, yet good enough to beat more popular opponents.”

Read Another Fiction: Danny Garcia W12 Lamont Peterson on The Cruelest Sport.

“Garcia-Peterson is an interesting fight, though not so interesting that it justifies the setup. Nor is there some kind of mandate for this fight simply because Showtime bought the disgraceful audition. Garcia-Peterson pits a fighter who tamed Lucas Matthysse against a fighter ravaged by him. That does not mean that Peterson is doomed: there are reasons to think he can succeed against Garcia in ways Matthysse did not. Still, enthusiasm for this fight is generated in part by lowered expectations—expectations that Haymon is largely, purposefully responsible for. Having teased the public with the possibility of Garcia-Peterson—a good fight, but an excellent one in the context of last year—Haymon may be banking on the recovering public celebrating the matchup and the brand delivering it.”

Read The Kicker: Danny Garcia-Lamont Peterson Preview on The Cruelest Sport.

“Stevenson-Bika pitted one fighter, the southpaw Stevenson, who would be rendered nearly helpless should he injure his left hand, against another, Bika, whose brand of violence would be only slightly less effective were he to lose both of his hands entirely. No such disaster befell either fighter. Yet, despite their four good hands they failed to conjure a memorable moment over 12 trudging rounds. Ivan Denisovich had more success building walls then Stevenson and Bika did building excitement.”

Read Wonder or Wander: Adonis Stevenson W12 Sakio Bika on The Cruelest Sport.