Thankfully, the fight did not go the full 12 rounds. Tonight, WBA middleweight titleholder Erislandy Lara stopped former 140-pound king Danny Garcia with a ninth-round corner submission victory in the Canelo-Berlanga fight in Las Vegas.

Lara, at 41 the oldest current world champion in the sport, hit Garcia in the head with a left hand in the ninth round and Angel Garcia pulled his son out, leaving Danny unable to get out in the tenth round.

Lara of Cuba is now 31-3-3(19). Garcia of Philadelphia falls to 37-4(21).

In short, today’s fight was beyond boring, with little action aside from the late knockdown by the southpaw Lara – and the fight proved to be a sad affair, with the once impressive fan favorite Garcia a mere shadow of his former self. It really should be time for “Swift” to quickly retire from the sport he once spiced up with style.

Lara, on the other hand, had an easy night, as his crisp and consistent right jab practically won him the fight. Lara boxed at his own pace and pretty much did what he wanted. Garcia tried at times, but he couldn’t get a foothold in the fight.

Lara is still fast at 41, and Garcia’s inactivity obviously hasn’t helped him. Lara boxed quite well at times, albeit at a subdued pace, and he never really had to come out of second gear. But again, the talking point here is is this the end of Garcia? It’s always sad and depressing when a once great fighter (great? Does Garcia fit the bill? Maybe another article for another time) shows up with nothing left in the tank, and that’s what we saw with Danny tonight.

Garcia is clearly heading for the exit, while Lara, a nightmare for any opponent and also what he would describe as a “boring” fighter, faces the difficult task of competing in more big fights and paydays.

Tonight’s fight did no one any favors – not Garcia, not Lara, not our paying fans.