By Scott Gilfoid: Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer says he’s going to give it one last shot to see if he can put together a unification bout between WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns (35-2, 10 KO’s) and WBC lightweight champion Adrien Broner (26-0, 22 KO’s) for June 15th in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Schaefer says he’s going to contact Burns’ promoter Frank Warren on Monday to see if they’re interested in the Broner fight on June 15th. If not, then Schaefer will be putting together a fight between Broner vs. WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi on June 22nd in New York.
Schaefer said to Lem Sattersfied at RingTV “I’m going to talk to Frank [Warren] again on Monday, and I’m going to make it publicly known as well that if he wants to fight Adrien Broner, we are ready to go, if that’s what he wants.”
Schaefer went on to say that if Burns’ team turns down the Broner fight, then they’ll go ahead and make the Broner-Malignaggi fight on June 22nd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
I don’t see Burns saying yes to the Broner fight. He’s reportedly still under contract to fight IBF lightweight champion Miguel Vazquez on April 20th, and that’s a fight that is going to be a tough one. If Burns wins the fight, he might be too beat up to get back in the ring in two months to face Broner on June 15th.
Even if Burns easily wins the fight without suffering any nicks or scratches, I see him wanting more time to prepare for Broner, even though it really won’t help any. I mean, you can give Burns a full six months to prepare for the Broner fight and he’s still likely to get knocked out because the talent level between the two fighters is too far apart.
When you’re as good as Broner is, there’s no amount of training that is going to get you to his level. He’s just physically blessed, and Burns isn’t going to be able to train himself to that level. If I’m Burns, I’m saying yes to the Broner fight on June 15th because it may be Burns’ last chance of ever getting that fight.
Once Broner moves up to face Malignaggi, and captures his WBA welterweight title, he’s not likely to bother coming back down to fight someone like Burns. Why would he? The money is so much better at 147, and he’d be crazy to take his career backwards to fight a guy that most Americans have never even heard of.
I think Schaefer should cut his losses and forget about trying to put together a fight between Broner and Burns. It’s not happening, and it’s wretched at this point to see him still trying. Burns had his chance three times now, and all three times he failed to take the fight. How many more times does Schaefer have to ask the guy before he finally gets a clue that Burns just doesn’t fancy the fight.
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