Danny Garcia talks moving up in weight and criticism

Junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia is ready to get back into the ring on August 1st where he will make his welterweight debut against former world champion Paulie Malignaggi. The fight will take place on ESPN live from the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn. Here is what Danny Garcia had to say about the various topics leading up to the fight.

ABOUT MOVING TO 147:

It feels great. For the first time in a long time, I could worry about training to get better and not training to lose weight. I've been fighting at 140 my whole career.

I just feel felt like losing the weight was affecting my performances, mostly in the later rounds of big fights because I will use a lot of my energy losing weight. I think I'm just going to - I've been feeling a lot stronger and a lot better at 147. I think I should have been moved up maybe after the Mattyhsse fight.

But I'm here now and I feel good. I feel strong. I'm training hard. And we're working on new things just to get faster and stronger at 147.

ABOUT CRITICISM FROM THE MEDIA AND FANS

That's just boxing. Because I've been the underdog before, I've been the underdog before and I won. And there was like, "Oh, he got lucky." So it's either I'm the favorite or the underdog. I can't listen to none of that stuff after just going through each fight like I was, mentally prepared, physically prepared going in and get the job done.

If it's good enough for the media and it's good enough for the fans, I'm happy. I'm still happy because, it takes a real man to go in there and put gloves on and fight another man for 12 rounds. It takes a lot of discipline. It's usually hard work for ten weeks straight waking up every day, doing the same thing, sweat, blood, tears, all that stuff.

So I would love for the fans and the media to love me. But, it is what it is, they're tough on me and that's what keeps the chip on my shoulder and that's going to make me train hard every day.

ABOUT FACING AND BEATING WELTERWEIGHTS LIKE THURMAN AND BROOK

I'm very confident. I faced a lot of good fighters. I faced a lot of great fighters in my career. I have a lot of experience. I was a big 140-pound fighter. I've never faced a 140-pound fighter who was taller than me or who looked better than me.

I was just squeezing my body down to 140. And I feel like I'm going to be a way better fighter at 147 and be able to use my legs more. At 140, I felt like I wasn't strong no more, so I just had to walk forward all night and knock my opponents out.

But I feel like at 147, you're going to see a more athletic Danny Garcia and be able to use my legs more, using my jab more and see punches clearer. When you drain yourself as hard to see punches, then you get hit with a lot of dumb punches because your vision is not clear.

I feel like my vision is going to be a lot clearer and be able to move my head, see the punches better, use my feet. And I think I'm going to be a champion at 147, too. I know so