Unbeaten Garcia to defend against Morales

NEW YORK (AFP) –

Unbeaten Danny Garcia, pictured in July 2012, will defend his light-welterweight world titles in a rematch against Erik Morales on October 20 in the first major title fights in Brooklyn for more than half a century.

Unbeaten Danny Garcia will defend his light-welterweight world titles in a rematch against Erik Morales on October 20 in the first major title fights in Brooklyn for more than half a century.

Garcia, of the US, will defend the World Boxing Council crown he took from Mexico’s Morales by unanimous decision in March and the World Boxing Association title he won last month from England’s Amir Khan with a fourth-round stoppage.

Garcia, 24-0 with 15 knockouts, fought Khan on short notice after the British fighter’s bout against Lamont Peterson was wiped out when the American tested positive for abnormally high levels of testosterone.

Morales, 52-8 with 36 knockouts, has not fought since losing to Garcia in Houston.

The card, at the new Barclay Center arena, will also include Brooklyn-born Paulie Malignaggi, who is 31-4 with seven knockouts, defending his WBA welterweight crown against Mexico’s Pablo Cesar Cano, 25-1-1 with 19 knockouts.

Malignaggi, a former world light-welterweight champion, has won four fights in a row since losing the WBA light-welterweight crown to Khan in 2010, most recently taking the WBA welterweight crown from previously unbeaten Vyacheslav Senchenko last April in Ukraine before his rival’s home-nation supporters.

Cano lost to Morales for the WBC light-welterweight title last September in his only prior world title fight.