Garcia ends Barclays run with fourth-round KO of Gonzalez

Danny Garcia closed his run at Barclays Center with a fourth round knockout of Danny Gonzalez on Saturday night in Brooklyn, delivering what the former two-division world champion billed as a farewell performance. The scheduled 10-round junior middleweight main event ended at 44 seconds of round four after Garcia landed a counter left that dropped Gonzalez and prompted referee Harvey Dock to halt the contest.

Both fighters made weight the day before, with Garcia stepping on the scale at 153.6 pounds and Gonzalez at 153.4 pounds for the 154-pound limit. Garcia, 37, began the fight aggressively, rocking Gonzalez with a right hand in the opening round and methodically setting up the left hand that finished the bout. Afterward Garcia said he had hurt his opponent early and adjusted by working behind his jab until he found the opening.

Gonzalez, a Queens native hoping a win would propel him toward a world title shot, came into the fight riding a two-fight winning streak and had publicly expressed ambitions to challenge top junior middleweights if he prevailed. He also said before the fight that he had placed a maximum allowable wager on himself. Promoter and crowd energy were strong...