By Tom Drury: Boxing in recent months is receiving maximum exposure from the sporting world and so it should, great fights are being made (Carl Froch vs Mikkel Kessler 2), (Saul “Caenelo” Alvarez vs. Austin Trout), (Brandon Rios vs. Alvarado 2), (Lucas Matthysse vs. Lamont Peterson), (Denis Lebedev vs Guillermo Jones) (Floyd Mayweather vs. Guerrero) among others, Mayweather’s record breaking deal with Showtime/CBS and young prospects/fighters breaking through into the mainstream Alvarez, Trout, Golovkin, Ishe Smith among many more.
This article is based on what I believe would be an intriguing fight and great viewing “The Problem” Adrien Broner vs “El Dinamita” Juan Manuel Marquez, both fighters have bouts currently penciled in, Broner against Paulie Malignaggi at 147, Broner’s first fight at the weight and Marquez is facing off against Timothy Bradley. Assuming both fighters get past there respective opponents, this would make a great fight and more so give fans the chance to gauge Broner’s level of talent at his tender age of 23.
Broner is being compared to the great Floyd Mayweather Jr. (mostly due to the famous shoulder roll technique). Broner is a good fighter with obvious talent but to compare him to Mayweather is ludicrous. Maybe in years to come but not yet. If I’m honest, Broner has a weapon Mayweather does not – knockout power. If Broner can perfect the shoulder roll technique (which won’t take long), learns how to control distance (which is a Mayweather specialty) and utilizes that big power with timing and accuracy, I think we might just have a special addition to the boxing world.
Back in 2009, Marquez faced off against the pound for pound champ Mayweather. Firstly lets not forget Marquez is a “Great” and future hall of fame inductee with great technical ability inside the ring. What we saw in that fight I don’t think anyone expected. The Mexican’s skills were totally nullified from start to finish in a total shut out.
Many fans, albeit the ones that dislike Mayweather, started shouting injustice as Marquez moved up from light welterweight, naïve to say the least after what we saw. Marquez was out countered, out-timed, kept at range, out punched and out classed, He could not get near Floyd to even think about landing a shot. That fight showed the absolute superiority of Mayweather Jr.
As already mentioned, Broner’s skills are regularly compared to those of Mayweather some believing his skills are better (or will be better in the future). A Marquez fight would give fans the chance to see what level of skill Broner actually possesses. Marquez is technically gifted and an established welterweight with years of experience in the fight game. Broner is in for a tough fight against Malignaggi next month on June 22nd. The casual fan would think not, but Paulie is no “Tomato can.” It is true he does not possess power, but experience of fighting at world class level he has abundance of. However, if Broner’s talent is where I believe it is, he will knock Malignaggi out in the middle-late rounds. Of course this article is assuming Broner will continue in the welterweight division. Broner is a natural 140 at the moment and there is some good fights and good money to be had in that division, such as Matthysse, Danny Garcia, Amir Khan. Those are all good earning fights. Garcia and Matthysse would be more than competitive also.
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