By Eric Thomas: 2012 will be a busy year for WBO super featherweight champion Adrien Broner (22-0, 12 KO’s), says his co-promoter Andre Williams. To start with the 22-year-old Broner defends his World Boxing Organization title for the first time next month on February 25th against the unbeaten No.1 WBO ranked contender Eloy Perez (22-0, 7 KO’s) at the Scottrade Center in Saint Louis, Missouri.
This is a dangerous fight for Broner, as Perez has an excellent left hook and he’s a lot faster than the guys that Broner has been accustomed to fighting during his three-year pro career.
Williams to the community press at cincinatti.com “We’re [Broner] looking to fight four times in ’12 – two on the road, two here. HBO was very impressed with how we did here. It’s good that he’s staying active. He’s the kind of kid who needs to be in the ring.”
Broner, who many boxing fans see as a younger version of Floyd Mayweather Jr, stopped Vincente Martin Rodriguez by a 3rd round KO last November on HBO. Broner looked like a copy of Mayweather with his check left hook, pot shot right hands and shoulder roll. However, unlike Mayweather early in his career, Broner actually gets hit. He’s not as fast as Mayweather was early in his career and he can be hit with jabs and right hands, as we saw in the Rodriguez fight.
However, Broner is slick enough to pick off the most dangerous shots and his power and pinpoint accuracy make him incredibly dangerous all times. Broner likes to lure his opponents in and then catch them with big counter shots to stun them. He had Rodriguez badly hurt in the 1st round after catching him with a check left hook. In the 3rd round, Broner retreated to the ropes and caught Rodriguez with a sneaky right uppercut that hurt him. Broner then flurried on Rodriguez until finishing him with a left hook to the head that sent Rodriguez down on the canvas against the ropes.
Eloy Perez , 25, is a lot more dangerous than Rodriguez because he’s got better hand speed and an excellent left hook that he can throw with big power in close. A lot of his opponents never see the left hook coming until it’s too late. Perez also has a nice right hand and he gets his opponents thinking about that punch and then catches them with the left hook. He’s a double threat. He’s not just a fighter with only one weapon in his arsenal.
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