His style remains just as quick and cunning as it was before. The signature left hook matching the "Swift" nickname across his trunks.
But his mindset will definitely be different next Saturday when Danny Garcia defends his unified world light welterweight title against Erik Morales at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
In their first meeting, Garcia looked impressive as he took down Morales in March with a unanimous decision. But he still had a gripe with himself.
"I showed him too much respect," said Garcia. "And this time I can't show him any respect."
He said he wasn't nervous before his win against Morales, just unsure of his surroundings. It was his first world title bout and he said he allowed Morales to set the pace of the early rounds.
"I was standing in front of him too long and letting the older guy think," said Garcia. ". . . This time I can't let him think, I have to go in there and destroy."
After downing Morales, Garcia overcame a cut above his right eye to dispatch Amir Khan in July with a fourth-round knockout. He secured Khan's WBA title to unify it with the WBC belt he won from Morales.
He entered the fight as a 5-1 underdog, thought to be more of an opponent for Khan than a challenger. Khan looked primed for a shot with Floyd Mayweather before he was stunned by Garcia.
Garcia and his father-trainer Angel Garcia have deemed Khan unworthy and denied his request for a rematch.
But Morales is different. Although Garcia may not show him respect in Brooklyn, he remembers what Morales did for him.
"He gave me a shot at the title when nobody knew me," said Garcia. "I was a young kid, he had nothing to win if he beat me. He would've beaten a young kid with no experience."
The city's lone world champion, Garcia said he has no interest wondering how his career will stack up against the city's past greats. That's a conversation for the fans, he said.
"I don't want to be one of those fighters that say I could've been this, I could've been that," said Garcia. "So, I'm kind of living in the moment right now, just making it all come true."
Contact Matt Breen at mbreen@phillynews.com or @matt_breen on Twitter.
