Adrian Broner: Is he for real, or just a Floyd Mayweather Knock Off?

By Boxing News - 08/16/2012 - Comments

Image: Adrian Broner: Is he for real, or just a Floyd Mayweather Knock Off?By Kevin Vazquez: After watching Floyd Mayweather perfect the Philly Shell defense over the course of his career; whether you love him or hate him, you have to admit he is probably the best defensive fighter in the history of boxing.

Floyd Mayweather’s defense is not exactly like the classic Philly Shell used by Joe Frasier, Mayweather has tweaked it just a bit to allow for speed and accuracy while countering. In affect you could say Joe Frasier was the archetype while Floyd Mayweather is the quintessential example.

While many fighters have employed versions of the Philly Shell, none have done so to the affect that Mayweather has; until now.

Adrien Broner is probably the closest example after Floyd Mayweather, to mastering the Philly Shell. However, much like Floyd in his early years, Broner prefers to be a little more offensive (much to the pleasure of fans),and aggressive rather then staying defensive, only taking calculated risks.

So is Adrien Broner a high priced forgery? Or is he an original? Not to be confused with his predecessor.

It may be too early in his career to answer these questions definitively. After all Broner’s first nineteen fights were nothing to write home about. In fact it wasn’t until his most recent five fights, starting with Daniel Ponce De Leon (41-2-0) on march 3rd 2011, that we got an accurate picture, and woe what a picture it was.

Adrien Broner successfully defeated five of the top contenders in the super featherweight division, convincingly. At times making them look as if they were nothing different then his first nineteen opponents.

In my opinion Adrien Broner is for real. He will be a force in boxing for years to come. Although his defensive technique will forever by tied to Floyd Mayweathers, that is no way a bad comparison.

Unfortunately, the light weight division is a wasted stop for Broner. Junior Welter weight makes the most sense at this time in his career. Broner is large enough and certainly has the talent. The potential fights will leave fans salivating. Garcia, Khan, Marquez, Peterson, just to name a few.

But, in all honesty, I cant wait ‘till he’s a welterweight.



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