Four to Watch in 2014

Four to Watch in 2014

Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley (31-0, 12 KOs)

Why Tune In?

He’s undefeated. He’s fought big names such as Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez, Ruslan Provodnikov, Joel Cassamayor, Devon Alexander, Lamont Peterson, Nate Campbell, Kendall Holt, and Junior Witter. Guess what? He hasn’t given that “0” up in the loss column yet. There’s something about this kid that just won’t take no for an answer. Desert Storm is an appropriate nickname for Bradley, not just because of fights like his war with Provodnikov- but his sheer will to go out and protect his “0”, by not going out to protect his “0”. You follow me? None of the names mentioned above are a walk in the park. For a guy with little power, he doesn’t fight like it. Witness how he dogged Devon Alexander and basically took his heart and made him quit. Timmy has earned his way to Top 3 status Pound 4 Pound in my book.

read more

Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Peterson vs Danny Garcia, Bradley, Broner, Mikey Garcia, and Charlo!

Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Peterson vs Danny Garcia, Bradley, Broner, Mikey Garcia, and Charlo!

Karen B. (Baltimore, MD): As a huge Lamont Peterson fan, I was very happy to see him win last Saturday night. What were your thoughts on his performance, and how do you see a proposed bout between he and Danny Garcia going if they do face off next?

Vivek W. (ESB): Coming into the night, I wanted to really get a feel for where Peterson was mentally, at this stage in his life. We’ve seen Peterson at the top of the ranks, and we’ve seen him look far less threatening. The past has taught us that Peterson can be whatever Peterson wants to be when his mind is right. Some would raise the failed steroid test. My response would be that it’s a non-factor. The lead official for the medical staff produced proof that he was being treated for a condition and the traces found were low enough to pass any other drug test in the sport except the overly stringent “zero policy” VADA based testing. Couple that with the fact that he was cleared by the IBF, and certainly you have to view it as a non-issue. What we saw Saturday was a man with a clean system, and after that performance, one could argue a clean slate and a bright future.

read more

Adrien Broner interview

Adrien Broner interview

Below are excerpts from Adrien Broner’s interview with Brian Kenny:


Regarding his first loss last December to Marcos Maidana…

“That’s not the first time I took defeat. It might not be the last time. But God has got something in store for me. I am set for a major comeback.

“Maidana did what he was supposed to do. He threw big shots. I was in a hell of a fight. It comes with the territory. That’s boxing. Sometimes you don’t get hit, but sometimes you do. It’s not about that. It’s about how you get up. And I got up and fought to the last.”

read more

Robert Garcia: Maidana deserves a shot at Mayweather after win over Broner

Robert Garcia: Maidana deserves a shot at Mayweather after win over Broner

Trainer Robert Garcia feels that his fighter WBA welterweight champion Marcos Maidana should have been in the running for a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. following his win over Adrien Broner last December. But instead of getting a potential chance against Mayweather in what would have been a career high payday for the Argentinian fighter, Maidana is now pretty much locked into a rematch with Broner after Broner invoked his rematch clause in his contract with Maidana.

“We thought by beating Broner and doing it the way we did, we definitely earned the shot at Mayweather,” Garcia said to the Boxing Channel. “For whatever reason it looks like they’re going to go with Amir Khan, and we’re going to have to wait and wait, because what if he changes his mind and fights someone else?

read more

Adrien Broner shouldn’t have fought Maidana, says Jones Jr.

Adrien Broner shouldn't have fought Maidana, says Jones Jr.

Roy Jones Jr. thinks it was a big mistake for former WBA welterweight champion Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KO’s) to have been matched against a puncher like Marcos Maidana (35-3, 31 KO’s) last month in their fight on December 14th. Jones Jr. thinks that Broner’s tougher than expected fight against Paulie Malignaggi was a sign that he needed to fight a slightly stronger fighter for his next fight instead of being put in with arguably the hardest puncher in the 147 lb. division in Maidana.

Golden Boy Promotions set up the Broner-Maidana fight, and Jones Jr. thinks that was a mistake. He felt that Broner needed more time for him to slowly grow into becoming a welterweight instead of jumping up to that weight class and quickly being put in the ring with Maidana in a risky right.

read more

Left-Hook Lounge: Broner/Maidana II, Mayweather/Pacquiao, Top Rank (Cold War)

Left-Hook Lounge: Broner/Maidana II, Mayweather/Pacquiao, Top Rank (Cold War)

Kelvin Y. (Atlanta, GA): It was recently reported that Adrien Broner secured his option to take an immediate rematch against Marcos Maidana. What are your thoughts about his chances of winning the rematch and what a win or loss would do for him in the aftermath?

Vivek W. (ESB): A few weeks ago when Broner was humbled by Maidana, I felt at the time that his best move would be to go down to 140lbs and allow himself to slowly develop into the welterweight division. There’s a huge misconception that just because a fighter walks around at a weight, he can fight at that weight. Broner learned the reality behind this flawed train of thought quickly in the first round when he realized he was standing across from a man who could hurt him that he didn’t have as much ability to hurt in return. I expect the rematch to be very interesting, but unlike many, I don’t know that I really see a different outcome in the end. The biggest issues I saw with Broner in the fight were his inability to adapt, his limited head movement, and what I also perceived to be a conditioning issue.

read more

Stafford thinks Broner will beat Maidana in the rematch if he starts fast

Stafford thinks Broner will beat Maidana in the rematch if he starts fast

Mike Stafford, the trainer for former WBA welterweight champion Adrien Broner, thinks he can beat Marcos Maidana in the rematch if Broner comes out quickly fighting at the pace he was at in the last half of his loss to Maidana last month on December 14th in San Antonio, Texas. Broner lost the fight by a 12 round unanimous decision, but you can put most of the responsibility for Broner’s loss on him starting off too slowly in the first 6 rounds.

Broner fought like he was half asleep during the first part of the fight, as he threw few punches and he let Maidana have control over the action. It was like Broner gave the fight to Maidana, at least that part of the fight. When Broner did rally in the 2nd half, he so far behind that he needed a knockout to win, and that wasn’t going to happen.

read more

Maidana may not fight Broner next

Maidana may not fight Broner next

It looks like Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer may have spoke too soon by assuming that WBA welterweight champion Marcos Maidana (35-3, 31 KO’s) would follow along in march step by willingly agree to give Golden Boy’s highly popular Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KO’s) a rematch next April just because Broner exercised his rematch clause.

Maidana’s not willing to just give up his chance of getting a much better fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. – or someone else – just because Schaefer said that the Broner-Maidana fight will happen in April. Maidana doesn’t want to narrow his possibilities by saying yes to that fight and missing out on something much bigger like Mayweather.

read more

Broner: Nobody is talking about Maidana’s win; just my loss

Broner: Nobody is talking about Maidana's win; just my loss

Former WBA 147 lb. champion Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KO’s) is poised to get a rematch against Marcos Maidana (35-3, 31 KO’s) on April 19th or April 26th, provided that Maidana doesn’t choose to ignore the rematch clause that the 24-year-old Broner exercised on Friday and fight someone else instead for better money. The only other fighter that Maidana could fight that would give him a bigger payday than the Broner rematch is a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. That doesn’t seem too likely given that Amir Khan is being talked about as Mayweather’s next opponent for his Mayweather 3rd bout.

Broner is already vowing to get revenge against Maidana by turning into a type of fighter that he’s never seen before. Of course, if Broner couldn’t fight any better than he did last time then it’s hard to imagine him showing a hidden gear in a rematch.

read more

Maidana wonders why he should give Broner a rematch

Maidana wonders why he should give Broner a rematch

WBA welterweight champion Marcos Maidana (35-3, 31 KO’s) wonders why he should have to do Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KO’s) a favor and give him a rematch when he wasn’t given a rematch against Amir Khan when he lost a close 12 round decision against him four years ago in 2010. Earlier today ESPN writer Dan Rafael revealed that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said that Broner and Maidana would be fighting a rematch in April.

Maidana finds it interesting that he’s being steered into a giving an immediate rematch against Broner, but he wasn’t given a rematch with Khan after all these years by Golden Boy. It just kind of makes you wonder whether Maidana should walk away from Broner rematch the way that Khan walked away from him. If Golden Boy wouldn’t get Maidana a rematch with Khan, then why should Maidana give Broner an immediate rematch?

read more