Adrien Broner faces Jovanie Santiago on Feb.20th on Showtime

By Boxing News - 01/29/2021 - Comments

By Allan Fox: Adrien Broner has a new opponent in Jovanie Santiago for his headliner spot on Showtime on February 20th. Broner (33-4-1, 24 KOs) has lost over 40 pounds during camp, and he’s not looking particularly youthful at 31.

This will be the first fight for the former four-division world champion Broner in two years since Manny Pacquiao trounced him in January 2019.

It’s impossible to know what we’re going to get from Broner in terms of his performance. He says he’s taking training seriously, and he obviously is.

Adrien trying to find the Fountain of Youth

Broner is trying to recapture the peak form that he had eight to ten years ago when he was still in his prime, but it doesn’t seem possible. He’s had too many years of slacking off for him to get back to what he once was.

Broner’s previous opponent Pedro Campe pulled out because COVID 19 a couple of weeks ago, so Broner’s management speedily found a replacement in unbeaten 31-year-old Puerto Rican fighter Santiago (14-0-1, 10 KOs).

Image: Adrien Broner faces Jovanie Santiago on Feb.20th on Showtime

Broner’s last seven fights:

  • Manny Pacquiao – UD 12 decision loss
  • Jessie Vargas – MD 12
  • Mikey Garcia – UD 12 decision defeat
  • Adrian Granados – SD 12 victory [controversial]
  • Ashley Theophane – 9th round knockout
  • Khabib Allakhverdiev – TKO 12
  • Shawn Porter – UD 12 defeat

The only notable name on Santiago’s 14-year record is DeMarcus Corley, who defeated by a close 10 round unanimous decision in 2017. It’s worth noting that Corley was 43-years-old at the time, and still came close to beating Santiago.

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Adrien has failed to live up to his potential

Broner was supposed to be the next Floyd Mayweather Jr in the early years of his career, but he failed to live up to the hype. He didn’t put in the hard work needed, and he let himself go physically in between fights.

Broner is trying hard to recapture what is clearly gone, and this could end badly for him. If Showtime lets Broner continue to fight guys at the level of Santiago for a year or two, he’ll do well and make easy money.

If Showtime insists on Broner fighting real contenders, he could be in trouble. Regis Prograis says he wants to fight Broner, but that would be a bad idea for AB.

You can’t blame Broner for taking an easy fight against Santiago, as he’s been out of the ring for ages and he’s taken a lot of weight off. It wouldn’t smart for Broner to face a good opponent yet.

Image: Adrien Broner faces Jovanie Santiago on Feb.20th on Showtime

But it is interesting that Showtime is willing to place the Broner vs. Santiago fight in the main vent on their February 20th card. But you can’t rule out an upset if Broner is weight drained from his massive weight loss program.

AB dieting to make weight

Broner has been a low-calorie due to take the weight off, and he’s still eating very little. The way he looks right now is similar to how he did when dropped a lot of weight for his fight against Mikey Garcia in 2017.

Broner lost that fight by a one-sided 12 round decision, and he couldn’t pull the trigger on his shots. It wasn’t surprising because he had taken off too much weight for that fight.

Broner hasn’t won a fight in four years. Let that sink in for a minute. If that doesn’t tell you what Broner has left, I don’t know what does.

It’s actually been longer than four years since Broner won a fight in the real sense, as his 10 round decision victory over Adrian Granados in 2017 was controversial.

Image: Adrien Broner faces Jovanie Santiago on Feb.20th on Showtime

Boxing News 24 had Granados winning that fight seven rounds to three. Broner’s last non-controversial win came in 2016 against Ashley Theophane.

“Sources: Adrien Broner is set to fight Jovanie Santiago on Feb. 20 in a Showtime main event. The original opponent, Pedro Campe, withdrew after testing positive for COVID. The Puerto Rican is undefeated but untested. First Broner fight since Manny Pacquiao in January 2019,” said @MikeCoppinger.