Garcia gets it done one last time

Danny “Swift” Garcia bid “Farewell to Brooklyn” on Saturday night with a fourth-round knockout of Danny “El Gallo” Gonzalez at Barclays Center. AP Photo by Frank Franklin II

Danny “Swift” Garcia stepped out of the squared circle at Downtown’s Barclays Center on Saturday night the same way he did over 13 years ago in his Brooklyn boxing debut.

Victorious and grateful.

The former two-division champion and Hall of Fame hopeful finished off a 10-bout run in our borough, and perhaps his career, with an impressive one-punch knockout of Danny “El Gallo” Gonzalez on the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush.

“I’m just so happy,” gushed Garcia (38-4, 22 KOs), who improved to 8-2 at Barclays in front of a crowd that saw him headline the arena’s first boxing card in 2012 with a win over Erik Morales.

“I’ve done a lot in my career and this is a great way to end it all,” he added.

Scheduled to go 10 rounds, this junior middleweight matchup only lasted four as the Philadelphia native of Puerto Rican descent dazzled from the opening bell.

Garcia landed the majority of power punches in the opening three rounds before a stone-cold stoppage of Gonzalez (22-5-1, 7 KOs) in the fourth on a vicious left hook.

“I know that I hurt him in round one, but my timing was a little off,” said Garcia. “So I decided to work behind my jab and I knew when he stopped his feet I was gonna catch him.

“I was just taking it round by round,” he added. “I didn’t underestimate him. He was in great shape. My dad (trainer Angel Garcia) told me to just stick to the game plan.”

Daniel Gonzalez had to carried out of the ring after being knocked out by Barclays Center fan favorite Danny Garcia on Saturday. AP Photo by Frank Franklin II

Garcia fought nearly a quarter of his pro bouts in Brooklyn, defending his light welterweight crown here with the win over Morales on March 24, 2012.

The 37-year-old was only 24 that evening and virtually unknown to a sold-out Barclays crowd.

They’ve certainly become better acquainted with him since.

Morales, Brooklyn’s Zab Judah, Rod Salka, Lamont Peterson, Bensonhurst native Paulie Malignaggi, Ivan Redkach, Jose Benavidez Jr. and Gonzalez accounted for Garcia’s eight wins in Brooklyn over the years.

He dropped a tough split decision to Keith Thurman in 2017 with welterweight unification on the line in 2017, and lost to Shawn Porter within the confines of his boxing home away from home the next year.

“The fans have supported me the whole way, since I first fought here, and have made Brooklyn feel like my home outside of Philly,” Garcia noted prior to his first fight here in three years last week.

“There’s nothing like a big fight night at Barclays Center,” he added. “I had to do this show for the fans and show them how much I’ve appreciated them this entire time. The best way to say goodbye is by fighting here one last time.”

Though his Barclays swan song was fought under his Swift Promotions banner under the tag “Farewell to Brooklyn”, Garcia hinted that he might not be done maing a living with his fists.

“At the end of the day, I’m healthy and I’ve got a beautiful family,” he said. “I don’t know if I’m done yet.”

Baltimore brawler Dominique Crowder (19-0, 11 KOs) remained unbeaten with a unanimous decision win over Fernando Diaz (16-6-1, 6 KOs) before Garcia stepped into the ring.

Also, undefeated and fast-rising Polish heavyweight contender Damian Knyba (17-0, 11 KOs) scored a seventh-round knockout of countryman Joey Dawejko (28-14-4, 16 KOs).

“King” Gabriel Rosado (28-17-1, 16 KOs) took a unanimous decision triumph over Vaughn Alexander (19-17-2, 12 KOs) and Brooklyn’s own Chris “Primetime” Colbert (18-3, 6 KOs) outlasted Argentina’s Blas Ezequiel Caro (12-9, 5 KOs) in eight rounds.

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One year to the day that she won WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player honors to help the New York Liberty win their first-ever championship, center Jonquel Jones revealed some news on the injury front.

The 6-foot-6 Jones posted on her Instagram on Monday that she had undergone surgery on the right ankle that forced her to miss five weeks of the Liberty’s run for a repeat title.

Liberty center Jonquel Jones revealed Monday via Instagram that she’d undergone a surgical procedure on the right ankle that cost her five weeks of the 2025 season. AP Photo by Darryl Webb

An unrestricted free agent, Jones was unable to push New York past Phoenix in the decisive Game 3 of their first-round playoff series last month, going 1-for-10 from the floor, including 0-for-5 from 3-point range.

Jones helped the Liberty to the Finals in each of her first two seasons and the team is an eye-popping 33-0 in games that she posts double figures in scoring and rebounding.

Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and Jones, better known as New York’s “Big Three”, are all waiting for the league to come to a collective bargaining agreement with players in the week ahead before they decide whether to come back to Brooklyn in 2026.

New York has also yet to name a successor to dismissed coach Sandy Brondello.