Adrien ‘The Problem’ Broner has a fight in the works against former 140-lb contender Ivan Redkach in February on BLK Prime. Chris Mannix says the 33-year-old Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs) is in “advanced” discussions for the fight against Redkach (23-6-1, 18 KOs).
If the deal gets done, this will be fight #1 of Broner’s lucrative 12-month, eight-figure, three-fight deal with BLK Prime.
Choosing Redkach gives Broner a good chance to get off to the ground on a positive note with BLK Prime. From their perspective, they would be counting on boxing fans wanting to see Broner regardless of who he’s facing.
If the fans are desperate to see Adrien Broner back in action, they’ll give him a pass for fighting a lower-level fighter rather than a top 15 contender, which is what he should be fighting at this stage in his career.
The 36-year-old Redkach is a fighter that the former four-division world champion Broner has had his eye on for over a year. Redkach has lost his last two fights against Regis Prograis and Danny Garcia.
Prograis made easy work of Redkach, stopping him with a body shot in the sixth round last year. It was a one-sided fight from start to finish. Prograis is obviously on another level than Broner, so Redkach is a 50-50 fight against him.
Ivan Redkach hasn’t won a fight since way back in 2019, but if BLK Prime is willing to accept Redkach as the first of their three-fight deal with Broner, it makes sense for Adrien to go that route.
“Adrien Broner, the former four-division world champion who signed a multi-fight deal with BLK Prime in October, is in advanced discussions to face veteran Ivan Redkach. Broner-Redkach is being targeted for February,” said Chris Mannix to Sports Illustrated.
Broner used to be a good fighter from 2010 to 2012, but he’s been washed up since getting beaten up by Marcos Maidana in 2013. Broner took a bad beating from Maidana, and he’s looked shot ever since that fight.
What’s kept Broner in demand is his ability to market his fights with his trash-talking. He’s done a great job of getting fans excited about his fights, but he never wins when facing good opposition.
Broner arguably should have more defeats on his resume than four, as he lucked out with favorably scoring in his fights against these guys:
Jessie Vargas
Paulie Malignaggi
Daniel Ponce Deleon
Jovanie Santiago
Fernando Quintero
Adrian Granados