Rees: I’m ready to cause a massive upset of Broner

By Boxing News - 02/11/2013 - Comments

rees5By Chip Lewis: Gavin Rees (37-1-1, 18 KO’s) will be looking to upset the odds on Saturday against WBC lightweight champion Adrien Broner (25-0, 21 KO’s). Rees, 32, isn’t phased by the fact that he’s a big underdog in this fight because he’s confident in his skills and he has a good game plan to try and neutralize the things that Broner does in the ring.

Rees said “We’ll put on a good show on the 16th of February and cause a massive upset. Adrien’s a great fighter and I can’t wait for the meet.”

One of the things that Rees plans on doing is avoiding the trap falls that Broner’s previous opponent Antonio DeMarco made against him last November in losing by an 8th round knockout.

DeMarco chose to stand directly in front of Broner the entire fight without making any adjustments whatsoever. Rees promises not to make the same mistake by using movement to keep Broner from getting his offense setup.

If you look at Broner’s past fights, he tends to walk his opponents down using pressure to cut them off and force them to trade toe-to-toe. At super featherweight and even lightweight, Broner has had a weight advantage over his opponents, and that’s really helped him when he does corner his opposition.

What Broner has not shown is the ability to move quickly around the ring to cut off a fighter on the move. Daniel Ponce De Leon used movement against Broner in his fight with him in March 2011. Broner barely won the fight by a 10 round decision because he didn’t have someone that was right there in front of him making it easy.

Rees no doubt has seen the Broner-Ponce De Leon fight, and he’s likely to mimic what De Leon used in order to win. Will it work against Broner? It could if Rees is disciplined and doesn’t get caught up in any wars. That’s one of Rees’ problems is that he’s too aggressive for his own good.