Garcia vs Broner: Boxing Crossroads at 140 lbs
It’s been long road for Adrien Broner (33-2-0, 24 KO) who has not lived up to the boxing hype since his HBO debut back in 2011. Rather, he’s been living up to his nick name: “The Problem” constantly involved with felony charges or convictions as he lives the ghetto "rapper" life outside of the ring.
Due to Broner’s actions, his career has been stagnant for the better part of three years. An elite talent at 130 or 135 lbs, he has a hard time making that weight due to the life style. His power doesn’t move up in weight at 140 or 147, although he’s still talented enough to be competitive at the top level. That said, being competitive and being a World Champion are two different aspirations.
Broner’s antics have certainly cost him a lot of money. For someone who claims to be “About Billions”, AB has squandered big pay days had he taken his craft serious. I believe Floyd Mayweather, and Manny Pacquioa would have faced him in what would have been a lucrative pay per view bout some years ago. Instead, Broner’s been fighting Ashley Theopane, or Khalib Allakhverdievbarely for easy money on Spike TV. A victory over an ascending Mikey Garcia can certainly boost the type of money AB will be making going forward.
On the other hand, Mikey is not stranger to leaving money on the table either. His 2 ½ year layoff from boxing during thie middle of his prime was filled with criticism. Many observers questioned his desire to be a great fighter. Garcia and his team remain adamant it was about getting out of a bad bad contract with Top Rank and being in charge of his career. Evidently, Mikey’s current situation of earning $1million to face Broner must be better than what he was making with Top Rank. Let’s hope that is all in the past and a victory over Broner will put Mikey on the top pound for pound discussion, even if he’ll be an outsider looking in.
What seems to be overlooked in this fight is the fact Garcia is jumping up a whole weight division to make the best of his opportunity. It’s a nice surprise given how dominant he looked at 135 lbs only a few months ago. Many fighters do not test or risk their careers with these types of moves, Mikey did!
Not to mention, Adrien Broner is a heavy hitting 140 lber so if he can manage to land, it will be interesting to see Mikey’s chin tested. Normally the bigger fighter, it will be interesting to see him in with a guy similar in size or even bigger. I expect Garcia to be the busier and more accurate puncher throughout the fight. If he can land consistent body work early, it'll take a lot of steam off Broner's punches and setup a nice victory with either a late round stoppage, or decision on the scorecards.
Another reason Mikey would move up in weight is to make a statement to Top Rank, his former Promotor, in an effort to land a big fight against them. They have the current 140 lb unified champ in Terrance Crawford and Vasyl Lomachenko has stated he may go up to 135 lb for the right fight. If Garcia could land either of these opponents, it would spell a big pay day opportunity and would be a great matchup for boxing!
Unlike today’s super fighters, Mikey runs from nobody. He seems to enjoy the spotlight and prove the doubters wrong. Boxing is filled with paper champs like Adonis Stevensen who claim to want the big fights, but when offers are made, no one signs on the dotted line.
Additionally, Garcia's time off seems to have given him a sense of urgency and extra motivation to be great. The guy is freakishly talented, a big puncher for his weight, and super calculated in the ring. It’s the wrong fight for Broner who’s looked mediocre in his last few but this could be his last shot of being great. Broner's best chance of winning is landing a wild big shot and hurting his opponent. Whether he can land that big shot will remain to be seen.
Both fighters have a lot o on the line tonight, and can be prime to step up to the pay per view table if they win in convincing fashion. It should be a good one – stay tuned for my post fight thoughts!
