(Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp/SHOWTIME) By Dan Ambrose: Adrien Broner (29-1, 22 KOs) says he wants to fight #1WBO, #2 WBC 140lb contender Lucas Matthysse (36-1, 34 KOs) next following Broner’s hard fought 12 round unanimous decision win over Emmanuel Taylor (18-3, 12 KOs) last night at the U.S Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
It was a tough scrap for Broner, but he was able to pull out the victory in the second half of the fight when Taylor stopped throwing as many punches. If not for that, Broner would have lost again. His work rate was not good, and he spent too much time on the ropes just covering up.
Broner said after the fight “I said my next fight should be Matthysse and he can get it. If it was up to me I’d fight him with this cut on my head tonight.”
The reality is it’s not up to Broner who he fights. He can say he wants to fight Matthysse, but his adviser Al Haymon is the one that picks Broner’s fights, not Broner. A Broner-Matthysse fight hinges on whether Haymon wants that fight to take place, and considering the kinds of fights he’s been making recently for his fighters Danny Garcia, Broner, Matthysse, Lamont Peterson and Peter Quillin, I’d have to say the chances of Broner fighting Matthysse are probably slim and none.
With Broner, Haymon has a fighter that makes nice paydays on Showtime. He’s already been beaten by the tough Argentinian Marcos Maidana. Haymon is still trying to bring Broner back from that defeat with his fights against Emmanuel Taylor and Carlos Molina. But if Haymon agrees to match Broner up with Matthysse, we could very well see Broner suffer another defeat and that could hurt Broner’s future earning potential.
Broner is going to have to face some quality fighters eventually at 140, but by stringing it out as long as possible before he faces a good fighter, Broner can potentially make a lot of additional that he might not otherwise make. That’s why I don’t see Haymon letting Broner fight Matthysse next.
I see him putting Broner in with another Taylor type fighter, and stay at that level until Danny Garcia vacates his title or at lets people know whether he’s going to stay at 140 or move up in weight to 147. If Garcia vacates, then Broner will likely face #1 WBC Viktor Postol for the vacant WBC 140 pound title. I can see the WBC allowing Broner, #3 WBC, to fight Postol for the vacant WBC title rather than #2 WBC Matthysse.
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