By William Mackay: Former world champion Bernard Hopkins says Adrien “The Problem” Broner could out-box Mikey Garcia if he comes into their July 29 fight with his mind clear, and him focusing mentally on boxing. Hopkins thinks there’s a chance that Broner (33-2, 24 KOs) could have some kind of nervous breakdown inside the ring against Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs) due to him having a lot of things on his plate in terms of outside the ring issues.
Hopkins wonders whether all the things that Broner has going on will wind up weighing him down to the point where he’s not able to function against Mikey. Hopkins notes that boxing is the type of sport where a fighter has to be mentally as well as physically ready for a fighter to do well.
Broner and Garcia will be fighting in less than 2 weeks on July 29 on Showtime Boxing from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The fight will be taking place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
“Broner is very strong, as [Marcos] Maidana told me, and very skilled as well,” said Robert Garcia to ES News Reporting. “I think we’re going to see the best Broner out there. I think we’re going to see the best Broner. He’s in great shape. He knows it’s do or die for him,” said Garcia.
Broner’s weight is the thing that a lot of boxing fans are forgetting. It’s not just the outside of the ring issues. Broner has to get down to 140 pounds for him to make weight for the fight, and he’s not made that weight in 2 years. Broner has been coming in over 140. It’s not going to be easy for Broner to make the weight. He might gas out in the second half of the fight when the effects of making weight start showing.
Broner looked like he gassed out in the second half of his last fight against Adrian Granados last February, and that was a fight that took place at 147. Granados was surprised that the weight for the fight was moved from 140 to 147. He was also surprised that the fight was only 10 rounds instead of 12, as he thought it was going to be a 12 round fight. Broner didn’t fight well at all, he was lucky to get a 10 round split decision. If Broner fights the same way against Garcia, he’s going to come up empty.
“I like Garcia,” said Hopkins to Fighthub in predicting a victory for Garcia over Broner. “Broner might have some kind of nervous breakdown. He might have some breakdown. He has a lot of problems going on. Boxing is a sport where you have to have your mind set. You can’t have no other issues, and you go into the ring and you’re fighting a guy like Garcia. If Broner shows up and shows that his mind is clear, then Broner should out-slick and out-box him. I like Broner. I think he ran into a lot of problems. He has the opportunity to change, and if he comes right. A lot of times fights are won mentally and not physically. If you’re physically fit and mentally dead, then what?” said Hopkins.
It would be a surprise to some in the boxing world if Broner is able to beat Garcia. Few people are expecting Broner to win, because he’s not looked good for a couple of years. But when Broner’s mind is right, he’s very hard to beat. Garcia will be the smaller fighter, and he’ll have to deal with Broner’s strength and size advantage. Broner has learned his lessons from his losses to Porter and Maidana.
Broner has the boxing skills to neutralize Garcia’s offense.
Broner has generally done well against fighters that throw one punch at a time like Garcia. The guys that have given Broner problems during his 9-year pro career have been fighters that have pressured him and thrown a lot of punches. Broner lost to Marcos Maidana and Shawn Porter. Both fighters were heavier than him. Broner also had problems with the pressure and work rate of Granados and Daniel Ponce De Leon. Many boxing fans thought that Broner deserved a loss in his fight with De Leon in 2011. Broner was given a 10 round unanimous decision over De Leon, but he was exposed in that fight.
WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko says he’s picking Mikey Garcia to beat Broner. Lomachenko doesn’t say what he sees in Mikey for him to be picking him to beat Broner. Lomachenko wants to move up to lightweight and fight Garcia. Just when Lomachenko will be doing that is the big question. He has a fight coming up against Miguel Marriaga. After that, Lomachenko says he’s going to wait and see what fights take place at super featherweight. He wants to fight a rematch with Orlando Salido. There’s also a possibility of a fight with Guillermo Rigondeaux. Lomachenko can’t spend too much time at super featherweight if he wants to face Mikey before he moves up to light welterweight permanently.
“It’s going to be an interesting fight,” said Vasyl Lomachenko to K.O Artist Sports about the Broner vs. Garcia fight. “I’m putting my money on Mikey Garcia. He’s an undefeated fighter and a top fighter. I would like to fight him,” said Lomachenko.