By Dan Ambrose: Adrien “The Problem” Broner (33-, 24 KOs) isn’t as impressed with Mikey Garcia (36-0, 30 K0s) and his flashy record as a lot of boxing fans are. Broner says he would not only beat all 36 of the guys that Mikey Garcia has beaten, but he’d do a better job of it by knocking out all 36 of them.
(Photo credit: Scott Hirano/SHOWTIME)
Broner says he’d like to see Mikey fight all 35 of the fighters that he’s fought during his career starting with Marcos Maidana. Broner laughs at the idea that Mikey hits harder than Maidana. Mikey’s brother Robert Garcia believes that he hits harder than Maidana. Broner doesn’t believe it.
Broner and Mikey will be fighting next month on July 29 on Showtime Boxing at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The two will be fighting at 140. Mikey is saying there won’t be a fight if Broner fails to make the weight. There’s a big weight penalty in case Broner doesn’t get down to 140. He’s failed to make the 140lb limit in his last 2 fights, so there’s some concern there that he might not make the weight for this fight. The weight penalty will likely help Broner do what he needs to do for him to make the weight limit.
Broner is the underdog thus far, but he doesn’t think he should be and he wants to prove the odds-makers wrong for installing him as the underdog.
“When I beat him, I hope I get my dues,” said Broner. “The guys that he’s punching at 135 and down, I’d like to see what happens if Maidana hits one of those guys or if I hit one of those guys. Give me all 36 of his opponents, and then I’ll give him all of my opponents. I’d be 36-0, 36 knockouts. Let’s see what his record would be,” said Broner.
Broner would have problems trying to knocking past Garcia opponents like Juan Carlos Burgos and Orlando Salido. Those guys don’t get knocked out. Burgos has never been stopped during his career. Salido hasn’t been knocked out in 17 years. It’s doubtful that Broner would be able to knock him out. I think Mikey would have a lot of problems against Marcos Maidana and Shawn Porter.
Both of those guys beat Broner with pressure and hard shots. Mikey might be too small and thin for either of those guys. If Mikey couldn’t knockout Porter and Maidna, he’d be in for a lot of punishment. Mikey handled Salido well in the early rounds. But by the 7th, Salido was starting to get to Mikey.
His trainer Robert Garcia pulled Mikey out of the fight in the 8th round after Mikey suffered a broken nose from a head-butt. It looked to some that Robert pulled Mikey out of the fight because Salido was starting to come on and nail him. Mikey was tiring and he was no longer dominating Salido like he’d been doing in the first 4 rounds. That suggests that Mikey is a good front runner, but he’s not the same fighter when he’s getting hit back and tiring by the second half of the fight. Broner might be able to take over the fight if hes able to make it past the 6th round. Mikey might fall apart when he starts getting hit.
“I’m going to do whatever I have to do to get the victory,” said Broner. ”I just feel like I’m on a different level. Everyone Mikey has put down has been at 135-pounds and under. I’ve already been a champion there. After this fight I think he’s going to go back to where he belongs…in the lower weight classes.”
It’ll be bad for the 29-year-old Mikey if Broner beats him, because it would wreck any potential plans for him to eventually move up to 140 permanently. If Mikey can’t beat Broner, then there’s no point in him ever moving up to that weight class permanently, because there are better fighters than him. We don’t know if Mikey is even the best at 135. He hasn’t fought Robert Easter Jr., and Terry Flanagan.
Mikey also hasn’t fought some of the top super featherweights like Vasyl Lomechenko, Gervonta Davis, Miguel Berchelt and Jezreel Corrales. Those guys would be tough outs for Mikey. With boxing the way it is, Mikey Garcia probably doesn’t ever have to fight a lot of the top guys for him to become a superstar. Look at Saul Canelo Alvarez. He hasn’t beaten any of the current stars in the sport and he’s a huge star.
Canelo beat Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley, but those guys were past their prime and not the same fighters they’d been earlier in their careers. It might be enough for Mikey to just beat Broner for him to get to the next level. We’ll have to see if that’s the case. Mikey Garcia needs to prove that he can beat the 27-year-old Broner on July 29 before there’s any talk of him moving to the next level.
“When Adrien is at his best he’s a fantastic fighter,” said Mikey Garcia. ”I’m always at my best. You can never doubt that. I want to win this fight and open up bigger opportunities.”
Fighting Broner is a good first step for Garcia, but he’s getting up there in age at 29. He needs to start fighting more often, and against only the best. If Garcia is going to stay at lightweight for a little while longer, then he needs to fight these guys only:
– Robert Easter Jr.
– Terry Flanagan
– Jorge Linares
– Dennis Shafikov
– Luke Campbell
– Felix Verdejo
These are the only guys that Mikey should be focusing on if he’s going to stay at 135 for a while longer. If Mikey can’t get them to fight him, then he should move up in weight to light welterweight right away. Mikey should move up anyway.
The paydays are going to be better for him the closer he gets to the welterweight division, which where he really needs to be for him to make the big money. There aren’t any stars in the lightweight division. Mikey can knock most of them out, but who cares. None of them are popular enough to help take his career to the next level.
Broner did not look nearly good enough in his last fight against Adrian Granados in beating him by a 10 round split decision in February. Broner blames his poor performance on a hand injury, but he was having problems even before the injury occurred. It looked like he was fighting someone that had his number. The scoring was questionable. Granados deserved the win in that fight. A lot of boxing world thought Broner deserved to lose. One thing is for sure, Broner cannot afford to fight like that against Mikey if he wants to win.
“I broke my hand in my last fight but I’m feeling good right now,” said Broner. ”’I’m going to get up for this fight and show that I’m still one of the best out here.”
