Mayweather: Broner will be facing Theophane in January

By Boxing News - 12/03/2015 - Comments

LR_MEDIAWORKOUT-ADRIEN BRONER-1487By Chris Williams: Promoter Floyd Mayweather Jr. says that his fighter 35-year-old Ashley Theophane (39-6-1, 11 KOs) will be challenging WBA World light welterweight champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner (31-2, 23 KOs) for his WBA title next January in a fight that will take place in Atlanta in a big card.

Broner, 26, recently spoke of facing Theophane last October following his 12th round knockout win over former WBA 140lb champion Khabib Allakhverdiev in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was unclear at the time whether Broner was serious or not about the fight. But with Mayweather saying that Broner will be facing Theophane in January, you have to take it seriously that he will be facing him.

“My fighter Ashley (Theophane) is from the UK…him and Adrien Broner is fighting in Atlanta,” Mayweather said to The Whoolywood Shuffle. “We doing a big show in ATL at the end of January. Ashley and Adrien will be fighting for the title.”

This isn’t obviously the greatest fight on paper, because Theophane isn’t ranked in the top 15 right now by any of the four boxing sanctioning bodies. However, that could change in the near future once the Broner-Theophane fight is signed. Theophane has recent wins over Steve Upsher Chambers and Mahonri Montes. Those are two capable light welterweights. Theophane was beaten by Pablo Cesar Cano by a 10 round split decision two years ago in 2013. Cano is a fighter who came close to beating Paulie Malignaggi in 2012, and Shane Mosley in 2013 in two very close fights. Theophane is right up there with those guys in terms of talent more or less.

Broner doesn’t really have a lot of options for his next fight. Amir Iman was just beaten, and the rest of the contenders in the World Boxing Associations top 15 are nothing special. Jose Benavidez is with Top Rank, I believe, so that makes a fight against Broner extremely improbable. The WBA’s other contender are about as well-known as Theophane.

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Broner, 26, recently lost to Shawn Porter by a 12 round unanimous decision. What we learned from that fight was that Broner used the wrong tactic by holding and moving rather than pressing the issue against Porter. Broner is still learning how to fight correctly. The Porter fight showed Broner that he’s got to change his fighting style if he wants to be successful against the top guys at 147. Broner used some of those adjustments in his next fight in throwing more shots to beat Allakhverdiev.

Theophane will make for a good opponent for Broner’s first title defense. It should be an interesting fight for as long as it lasts.

Mayweather has nothing negative to say about former UFC Women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey after her loss to Holly Holm.

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Mayweather had this to say about Rousey:

“I think Ronda Rousey, before she lost the fight, she was 11-0 or 12-0. I don’t really know, I think it was the media. You know, sometimes the people around you can gas you up and be a bad influence. [I don’t] have anything negative to say about Ronda Rousey. I commend her for going out there and doing what she did in MMA.”



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