Tearful Danny Garcia savors win over depression after dominating Benavidez

Danny Garcia’s campaign for a world title in a third different weight class got off to a auspicious start on Saturday night as he cruised to a dominant unanimous-decision win over José Benavidez Jr in his super welterweight debut at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

The 34-year-old from North Philadelphia, a former unified champion at 140lbs who also won the WBC’s version of the title at 147lbs, made easy work of his taller, longer opponent, winning by scores of 116-112, 117-111 and (absurdly, in ringside judge Waleska Roldan’s view) 114-114.

The fight marked Garcia’s first outing since a unanimous-decision loss to Errol Spence Jr in December 2020, a span of nearly 20 months and the longest layoff of his career by some distance. Afterward, the former two-division champion broke down in tears while still in the ring as he opened up about the debilitating anxiety and mental-health struggles he’s endured since that professional setback.

“I did take a break going through mental things, things went dark, I went through anxiety, deep depression, just trying to be strong,” Garcia said, fighting through tears. “It was the pressure of life, being a good dad, just letting it out right now, because it was all stuck inside. It rained on me for a year and a half and the only way to do better was to fight again. I’m a fighter. If you battle anxiety and depression, you can get out of it, that’s what I did today. I fought.”

Benavidez’s edges of nearly three inches in height and reach were even more apparent under the Barclays Center lights than at Friday’s weigh-in, but Garcia’s sure footwork left his opponent unable to press the advantage in the opening round. The Philadelphian continued to control the pace into the second and third frames,