According to multiple reports, unified jr. welterweight champion Danny Garcia suffered a rib injury that will either force the postponement or cancellation of his anticipated title defense against former champion Zab Judah. The news comes just two weeks prior to the scheduled February 9 clash, which was set to take place at the Barclays Center and broadcast live on Showtime. Word first spread of the injury late Saturday night, shortly after Lucas Matthysse's first round knockout of Mike Dallas Jr.
Judah, who was in attendance for that bout, conducted interviews during the broadcast to promote the upcoming fight, seemingly unaware at the time that there was any problem with Garcia. It wasn't long after that when Judah took to Twitter to share the bad news with his followers. "I heard Garcia hurt his ribs in sparring. But I know he's hurt and the fight with Garcia is off, but there might a replacement opponent," Judah explained to RingTV.com, suggesting that there's a chance that Golden Boy Promotions may still move forward with a February 9 card if a sutiable replacement can be found.
"I don't know if he's faking it or not, but they told me the fight is off and I know he's not ready. He might want to wait to April to fight-but that's not going to be it. I want to fight him now. We're hoping and looking for a replacement. I did everything I have to do to fight this guy," Judah continued. Garcia, however, gave the impression that their showdown would be postponed when he contacted ESPN.com with the following text message: "I have a rib injury. It's postponed."
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