Garcia wants to stand out as boxer and entertainer

NEW YORK - Danny Garcia, with flashy accessories dotting his otherwise all-white outfit, was hard to miss at the B.B. King Blues Club and Grill on Thursday.

Dark sunglasses covered most of his face. A light blue hat covered his head. A gold "DSG" chain, standing for Danny "Swift" Garcia, hung around his neck and drooped to the middle of his torso.

"You know boxing is all about entertainment," Garcia said. "That's what makes you stand out."

Garcia, a soft spoken 27-year-old from North Philadelphia, does most of his talking in the ring. Entering his fight against the 34-year-old Paulie Malignaggi (33-6, seven KOs) at the Barclays Center on Saturday night, the undefeated Garcia (30-0, 17 KOs) isn't lost on the bigger picture. He knows that a convincing win in his first fight in the 147-pound welterweight class could springboard him into the thick of a division nearing a power shift.

He'd just rather have you tell him that while he worries about a much simpler science: beating his opponents and entertaining along the way.

"We're coming to make noise at 47," Angel Garcia, Danny's father and trainer, yelled into the microphone in front of a cheering room Thursday. "He will be the champion. Guarantee it."

As Angel went on, Danny sat to his right and lightly nodded while cracking the occasional smirk. He lumps Angel's outspoken personality into DSG's entertainment package, which could Danny see Garcia's marketability catch up to his in-ring success.

During training camp, Garcia wanted to spice up his conditioning and chased a chicken around the ring. It took him 40 seconds to catch it. The gimmick landed him on SportsCenter.

"These guys are good TV," middleweight Sergio Mora, also on Saturday's card, said of the Garcias on Thursday. "I think that will drive ratings Saturday."

On Thursday, Danny Garcia was asked about fighting Kell Brook and Amir Khan, among other fighters. He opted to keep the conversation centered on Malignaggi, but did say that he wants his next opponent to have a belt so he can fight for a welterweight championship.

Garcia, the quiet boxer surrounded by a never-ending show, thinks he's more than ready to take that step.

"They say that being humble leaves you out of the record books," Garcia said. "I want to be in the record books."