Adrien Broner, seemingly every fight fans’s favourite bad boy, is a pretty heavy underdog going into his July fight with unbeaten Mikey Garcia; if not on the boards then perception-wise. Ask a fan, and around eight or nine out of ten of them will tell you Broner gets beaten on July 29.
Broner knows he’s not the fan favourite to win but he says he will be “100-percent” and that he wanted this, a tough fight. To his credit, Broner, a multi-weight champ, has never been stopped in his career, where he has suffered two defeats – to Marcos Maidana, who for many people “exposed” Broner and burst his bubble, and to Shawn Porter. But will Broner get stopped by Garcia next month? Is this the fight that ends Broner’s time as an elite fighter?
Garcia, unbeaten, is sure he will get the victory.
“Broner has lost. I don’t lose. I don’t believe anyone around my division can beat me and I believe I’m the better fighter,” Garcia said a while back, as quoted by ESPN.com.
The fans agree: Garcia, 36-0(30) is better than Broner. Now the reigning WBC lightweight champ has to prove it. Coming off that impressive and brutal KO over Dejan Zlaticanin in January (this fight being Garcia’s second following a 2-and-a-half year layoff), Garcia’s stock is soaring. Broner in comparison struggled to a decision with the tough and capable Adrian Granados in February, with a number of people feeling Granados was deserving of the decision that went to “The Problem.”
Weight could well prove to be a big factor in this fight. Can Broner, who has boxed as a welterweight and even struggled to make the limit there, get down to the agreed 140 pounds (a hefty fine is reportedly in place for either fighter should he fail to make 140) without weakening himself? As for Garcia, who has won titles at featherweight, super-feather and lightweight and is now going up to his fourth weight class, will he be as strong and as powerful up at 140?
It really is an intriguing fight, one that has fans talking and talking. Broner, 33-2(24) once showed great talent and even greater promise. Garcia is seemingly on top of his game right now. Will Broner knuckle down to serious training and in this fight show everything he has skill-wise, heart-wise and determination-wise, or will Garcia continue his seeming march to greatness?
Garcia, the older man by two years at age 29, has to be the pick to win, but can he become the first man to KO Broner?