As 2020 was waning, Pottstown boxer Danny “Swift” Garcia was riding high. His career stats were an impressive 36–3, with 21 knockouts. But a Dec. match in Arlington, Tex., had him battling both his athletic opponent and his emotional stability, writes Ken Hissner in Boxing News 24.

A high-profile loss seemed to mark the beginning of the internal slippage of his well-being. Danny and his father-trainer Angel Garcia were driving home from a bout when Danny’s emotions began to crumble. Before long, he was weeping in the family truck.

“What’s wrong?” asked Angel. “Talk to me.”

Danny was unable to articulate the problem, which only caused his father to worry more.

“He felt dark,” Angel remembered, “like a black cloud was hovering over him. He’s a tough guy, so when he cried, it really hit me.”

Danny arrived home mentally exhausted, both from his rigorous fight schedule and the health protocols that transformed his training sessions into something strange and unsettling.

The fighter said it all made him feel more alone.

He cleared his fight schedule, taking some time away from the ring to refresh. The 19-month pause — along with a gradual normalcy returning to the sport of boxing — proved restorative.

“I feel like the old me,” Danny said. “I feel good. I feel excited. I feel motivated. I feel happy.”

He returns to the ring July 30.

Read more on the internal journey of Danny “Swift” Garcia at Boxing News 24.