Broner needs to beat Malignaggi in an impressive manner if he wants to become a PPV star

By Boxing News - 05/08/2013 - Comments

broner98822By Allan Fox: WBC lightweight champion Adrien Broner (26-0, 22 KO’s) patterns himself after his hero/friend Floyd Mayweather Jr. Indeed, some fans see the 23-year-old Broner as a slightly smaller, less talented copy of Mayweather, and it’s hard to argue with that perception.

Broner wants to get the big money like Mayweather and become a pay per view attraction. However, it’s still unknown whether he’ll ever rise to that level due to his talent limitations and the limits of his opposition.

Broner needs a big star to face to get to the next level, and right now there’s a shortage of those type of fighters at 147 and 140, so he’s going to have problems on that front.

Broner still could become a huge star the hard way by looking impressive each time he fights and cleaning up the 147 and 140 pound divisions of all viable opposition.

That starts with his fight next month against WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KO’s) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Broner has to not only win, but he’s got to look sensational in doing so.

For him to struggle against a limited fighter like Malignaggi would be a huge blow to his career because Malignaggi was easily handled by both Ricky Hatton and Amir Khan, and the latter fighter will likely never be a huge star.

Broner already had a close call against Daniel Ponce De Leon two years ago in beating him by a close, controversial 10 round unanimous decision by the scores of 96-94, 99-91, and 96-94.

Even if you disagree with the scores, the fact is Broner struggled badly against a fighter that he should have been able to beat easily if he were really the next Mayweather Jr.

There’s no way Mayweather would have ever struggled to beat someone like De Leon, and if this fight is a true indication of Broner’s talent limits then Golden Boy Promotions is going to have to match De Leon with care if they want him to make the jump to a PPV attraction this year or in 2014.

It starts with his fight against Malignaggi. Broner can’t struggle to beat this guy because if the boxing community sees him having to work hard to get a win over Malignaggi, then it’s safe to say that Broner will never be able to move to the next level and become the PPV star that Golden Boy wants him to.



Comments are closed.