By Jeff Aranow: WBA Super light welterweight champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner plans on putting on a show in his first title defense of his WBA 140lb title in eight days from now against #8 WBA contender Ashley “The Treasure” Theophane on Saturday, April 1 on Premier Boxing Champions on Spike from the DC Armory in Washington, DC.
Broner is the favorite in this contest, and there’s the belief that he’s going to have an easy time defeating the 35-year-old Theohane in this fight. However, Broner has struggled in the past against different opposition and it’s impossible to predict how he’ll do against a highly motivated Theophane, who is backed by Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Theophane isn’t going to want to let Mayweather down, and he’s already received plenty of tips from the superstar in how to defeat Broner. Mayweather has obviously dissected Broner’s fighting style and given Theophane the perfect game plan to use to give Broner his third defeat of his career.
Whether Theophane is talented enough to carry out Mayweather’s game plan is the big question. The guys that beat Broner in the past, Marcos Maidana and Shawn Porter, had size, power and a high work rate. Theophane doesn’t have size or power, but he does have a high work rate. Perhaps that’s all he’ll need to given the 26-year-old Broner another defeat on his record.
“I love training camp in D.C. because it takes me out of my element. I can get rid of the distractions and focus on boxing,” said Broner. “The team we have down here brings the best out of me…I know it’s going to be an electrifying atmosphere with a huge crowd. I’m coming to put on a show. I know that Ashley Theophane is coming to win. He’s not coming to lay down, but we’re ready for anything he can bring.”
This is Broner’s first fight in Washington, DC, and it’s going to be interesting to see how the crowd responds to his fighting style. Hopefully, Broner keeps it serious in the ring and doesn’t clown around against Theophane like he did in his fights against Porter and Marcos Maidana. Broner humped Maidana at one point in their fight. Against Porter, Broner turned his back to Porter and threw a punch that hit Porter.
There was a lot of clowning and fouling from Broner. He was fortunate not to have been penalized over and over for his antics.
“Everybody has bad nights,” said Broner about his loss to Porter. “The Porter fight was just one of my bad nights. But we’re back on track, we’re back to being a world champion and I will stay champion after April 1. It’s going to be a fantastic show.”
Broner should be able to beat Theophane even if he has a bad night on April 1. This is a voluntary defense for Broner, and he’s not fighting one of the dangerous light welterweights. He just needs to be able to land enough big punches to win the fight, because he’s going to have to deal with Theophane’s high work rate. Theophane is a hungry fighter, and he’s going to be looking to prove himself in this fight by outworking Broner to take his title.
Comments are closed.