Garza to Begin Comeback Bid in Tournament
Jaime Garza, a former Pacoima resident now living in Alhambra, roared through the super bantamweight division, winning his first 40 fights, 38 by knockout, along with the World Boxing Council super bantamweight title.
Seemingly invincible, Garza was brought back to earth in 1984 by Juan Meza, who caught Garza with a devastating punch at the end of the first round of a title fight.
It took Garza a year to deal with the effects of the stunning loss.
But back he came, winning four straight. Then, in February, he was shocked again, by Darryl Thigpen of St. Louis. This time, the defeat was harder to take. Thigpen knocked Garza down several times, including a sixth-round knockout.
So now Garza, 27, (44-2 with 42 knockouts) the No. 12 ranked featherweight by the WBC, must find out what he has left.
He’ll start tonight at the Forum when he takes on Dwight Pratchett (18-6, 13 knockouts) of Houston in the first round of a $100,000 featherweight tournament.
Pratchett, ranked 10th among junior lightweights by the WBC, is a former North American Boxing Federation junior lightweight champ.
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