If Danny Garcia truly wanted to, he could have remained in the welterweight division and attempted to make a second title run. However, after years of squeezing down his fairly big frame to the 147-pound weight limit, the Philadelphia native believed he was in need of a reprieve.

While somewhat small for the junior middleweight division, Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs) officially made the trek seven pounds north. In his first appearance in his brand new weight class, the former two-division world titlist easily outboxed fringe contender Jose Benavidez Jr.

As Garcia continued to dissect his man in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on July 30th, an impressed Tony Harrison pulled out his pen and paper and began to take notes. According to the former WBC titlist, the newly installed contender was seemingly at the top of his game as he cruised to victory.

“I thought Danny performed good for his first fight,” said Harrison during an interview with Thaboxingvoice. “He definitely didn't have an easy cookie coming into 154. I think he had a good performance.”

Garcia, 34, gave up both length and size to the much bigger Benavidez. Still, despite marching into their showdown with several physical disadvantages, he kept Benavidez honest with a persistent jab and mesmerizing footwork.

With two title runs at both 140 and 147-pounds, Garcia garnered a reputation as being one of boxing’s most deadliest punchers. Nevertheless, Benavidez never appeared to be in any serious trouble. At times, a pugnacious Benavidez stood in the middle of the ring, banged his gloves together, and urged his man to stand and bang. Garcia, on the other hand, simply smiled as he snapped his head back with a stinging jab before continuing to box circles around him.  

During the heat of a back-and-forth battle throughout the years, Garcia has often ditched a traditional boxing match while opting to rely on his dependable left hook to bail him out of trouble. That very punch has provided highlight reel level knockouts against some of the more notable names in recent memory.

But, with Garcia now facing off against bigger and much stronger men, Harrison believes that the 34-year-old star will be forced to be more than just a one-trick pony.

“Now he’s in a weight class where that hook isn’t gonna knock everybody out no more. He’s in a weight class now he gotta use and open up and spread variety with his mind and think a little bit, move his feet a little bit. I loved it. Danny looked amazing.”

In spite of the superlatives used to describe Garcia’s recent showing, Harrison (29-3-1, 21 KOs) is salivating as he hopes to land his own crack at the multi-divisional champion.

Following a rough three-year stretch in which Harrison was unable to secure a victory, the Detroit native got back in the win column earlier this year against Sergio Garcia. With the jovial former champion getting his groove back, he views a bout between himself and Danny Garcia as a must-see matchup.

“I would love to fight Danny Garcia.”