Danny Garcia, pictured right, won a close one vs. Lamont Peterson in April (Photo: Naoki Fukuda)

By Chris Robinson

Looks like Philadelphia’s Danny Garcia has elected to relinquish his WBC junior welterweight title that he captured in March of 2012 after defeating Erik Morales.

Garcia’s last two contests, a majority-decision over Lamont Peterson in April and a 2nd round knockout over Rod Salka this past August, were fought above the junior welterweight limit of 140 pounds and those in the industry knew well ahead of time that it was time for the young champion to move up.

Garcia spoke to WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman about his decision, and it now appears the vacant belt could be contested for by Victor Postol and Argentina’s Lucas Matthysse. Postol has been the division’s mandatory and Matthysse is coming off of a rousing victory over Ruslan Provodnikov last month to put him in a prime position to challenge for the belt.

As for Garcia, looks like an a big showdown in Brooklyn vs. Paulie Malignaggi could be on tap for his first official fight in the welterweight ranks.

Chris Robinson can be reached at CRobinson@hustleboss.com