by David P. Greisman

What backlash there was over last week’s announcement regarding the postponement of a potential fight between Danny “Swift” Garcia and Viktor Postol had less to do with the mandatory challenger and far more to do with the junior-welterweight champion.

Postol is a 30-year-old contender from Ukraine who is 26-0 with 11 KOs. Until earlier this year, all but the most hardcore of boxing fans probably knew little to nothing of him. His record showed decision victories over a pair of recognizable American names: one over the aged DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley in late 2012, and another over Henry Lundy in early 2013.

He had his second fight in the United States this past May, and his first on major American television, when he faced Selcuk Aydin on HBO on the undercard of Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Mike Alvarado. If Aydin’s name seems familiar, it’s probably because he appeared on “Showtime Championship Boxing” twice, losing on the scorecards against Robert Guerrero in 2012 and Jesus Soto Karass in 2013.

Postol, a rangy 140-pounder at 5-foot-11, boxed expertly against Aydin before scoring a beautiful one-punch uppercut knockout in the 11th round. That win made him mandatory challenger to one of Garcia’s two sanctioning body belts.

For some reason, some people thought that Garcia vs. Postol might actually happen.

Then came multiple announcements that the deadline for the two sides to reach a deal had been postponed. That potentially allowed for more time to negotiate rather than bringing the bout to a purse bid in which promoters would vie for the right to stage the fight.

Rather, the negotiations apparently turned to Postol getting paid to step aside for the moment, allowing Garcia to take another fight without losing his World Boxing Council belt. It was a good deal for Postol. He gets extra cash. Beyond that, if Garcia doesn’t subsequently face Postol, then Garcia would presumably lose his title and Postol would still be one of two men fighting for it.

Of course, there are those who believe that Garcia is ducking Postol, as if he is the first boxer whose promoter or management team has paid a step-aside fee so that they need not face someone — be it an opponent who is a threat, an opponent who is lesser known, or both — in favor of doing something else.

Postol did look as if he might be able to pose an interesting challenge, though he has no track record against top-tier competition. But Danny Garcia was never, ever going to fight Viktor Postol. You should never have expected it to happen. And you shouldn’t be overly disappointed, then, that it probably never will happen.

For one, the business of boxing continues to impede on the fights themselves. Postol is co-promoted by Top Rank, while Garcia works with Golden Boy Promotions. Although Top Rank’s Bob Arum and Golden Boy’s Oscar De La Hoya have spoken of ending their “Cold War” and forging a better relationship now that former Golden Boy chief executive Richard Schaefer has departed, the two companies still have their own interests and their own deals with networks and sponsors.

Beyond that, there’s the fact that Garcia is advised by the powerful Al Haymon, with whom Arum does not have a working relationship. Haymon’s plans for Garcia likely have nothing to do with Postol.

Postol hasn’t even been the most noteworthy opponent on our radar when it comes to Garcia. Just a few months ago, we were outraged by the Showtime card in August featuring Danny Garcia in a mismatch against Rod Salka and Lamont Peterson in a mismatch against Edgar Santana. It was a card made instead of a more desirable bout between Garcia and Peterson.

“The promoter could not deliver that fight to us,” Espinoza told me shortly after Garcia scored the second-round knockout over Salka. “I negotiate with promoters. I negotiate with Golden Boy Promotions. I asked for that fight. They couldn’t deliver it. It could not be made. … Very likely it could be made in December or early next year, but it was not a fight that was available.”

Later, he said: “Each of those guys needed a fight. They’re both guys that we had invested in. The choice is either to make the best of what you can and try to build toward the future, or just walk away and risk not having something in August.”

When the Aug. 9 card featuring Garcia vs. Salka, Peterson vs. Santana and Danny Jacobs vs. Jarrod Fletcher was made, the network’s boxing programming for that month had not yet been fleshed out with the tripleheader that wound up on Aug. 16, he said.

“There are a confluence of different factors,” Espinoza told me that night. “The timing. The need for programming. There’s supporting promoters and fighters that we have worked with in the past, and building for a future.”

There were no guarantees that Garcia-Peterson was next. There’s still been no word that Garcia-Peterson will come soon. But that fight or a bout with Adrien Broner or a rematch with Lucas Matthysse was always going to be much more likely than a defense against Postol. All three of those opponents, like Garcia, have Haymon as their adviser. All three work with Golden Boy. All three are featured on Showtime. And all three have bigger names than Postol.

So I can’t get too upset that Garcia is passing by Postol for now, even though we still don’t know what Garcia will be doing next.

I do understand why people are upset, though. It’s because they’re agitated with Garcia in general.

They’re agitated because of something Garcia did well, and because of what he did afterward.

He rose to the top a year ago when he won a decision over Matthysse — beating the consensus second-best guy at 140 pounds, stepping in with an opponent who was earning a reputation as the division’s boogeyman.

That victory vaulted Garcia into the higher echelons of the sport, which in turn led to greater expectations for what he does and whom he does it against.

He got some leeway for a “homecoming” bout this past March in Puerto Rico, where the Philadelphian’s family was originally from. Yet he had difficult moments in that bout against Mauricio Herrera. Garcia won a majority decision. There were some observers who felt Herrera deserved the nod.

Garcia didn’t give Herrera a rematch, nor did he go on to face a top contender or fellow titleholder. Instead, he got a gimme against Salka, a naturally smaller man who had never beaten an upper-level opponent and was suddenly stepping in with the champion at 140 pounds.

It was a mismatch on paper and an even greater mismatch in the ring. Garcia made quick and brutal work of Salka.

It’s understandable to want Garcia to perform at a level and against opponents of a level befitting a boxer who is considered the king of the junior-welterweight division and who is regularly on lists of the top fighters in the sport today.

We didn’t get that from Garcia when he had trouble with Herrera, though Herrera has also shown himself to be a decently skilled and difficult boxer.

We didn’t get that from Garcia when he consented to face Salka. We don’t know if we’re going to get Garcia vs. Peterson, Broner or Matthysse. We don’t know what’s next.

We know that Postol isn’t. We should’ve known that from the outset. We shouldn’t be mad that Garcia-Postol isn’t happening. That’s no surprise.

We should reserve our anger in case the business of boxing continues to impede on the quality of the fights Garcia takes.

He’s good enough that he should be better than that.

The 10 Count will return next week.

“Fighting Words” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com. Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide . Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com