By Allan Fox: Adrien ‘The Problem’ Broner says he’ll beat Regis Prograis’ backside if he faces him in his next fight following his comeback 12 round unanimous decision against Jovanie Santiago last Saturday night on Showtime at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
The judges scored it in Broner’s favor with the following scores: 116-111, 117-110, and 115-112. Interestingly, Steve Farhood of Showtime had Santiago winning by a 114-113, which is how Boxing News 24 had it. Broner didn’t appear to do enough to deserve the win, but he got the victory nonetheless.
The former WBA light welterweight champion Prograis (25-1, 21 KOs) is someone that Showtime will likely want Broner to face soon, if not next. Prograis is highly rated and has only lost once in his career in losing to Josh Taylor by a narrow 12 round majority decision in October 2019.
Broner will have to fix his low punch output if he’s to have a chance of beating Prograis or any quality contender in the top 15 in the 140-pound division. I mean, Broner averaged just 5 punches landed per round for the 12 round fight against the 31-year-old Santiago, which is pathetic.
Broner connected on 63 of 300 shots during the fight and was outworked by the little-known Santiago. For his part, he connected on 114 of 392 shots, but his punches had more power to them.
However, many of the shots that Santiago was throwing were to the body of Broner, and the judges seemed to ignore them for some reason. It’s unclear if the judges were scoring the fight like an amateur contest or what.
Unfortunately, Broner was non-commital about taking the fight with Regis, and he says he’s going to speak with his adviser Al Haymon to see what ideas he has for his next opponent.
It’ll have to be someone that Showtime agrees to, which means that Broner will a least need to face a top 10 contender the next time out.
Last night, for the most part, Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs) looked like the same fighter that fought Manny Pacquiao in 2019.
It was the same low punch output and lack of explosive power that we’d seen from Broner in most of his fights in the last five years of his career.
“He’s doing what he’s supposed to do. When I was coming up, I was calling everybody out too,” said Broner about Regis Prograis showing interest in a fight.
“But like I said, if I get in the ring with him, I’m going to f*** him up. Maybe not next,” Broner said when asked if he’d be interested in facing Prograis next.
“I don’t see that one next, but if it do come next, it don’t matter. I’m going to win, I’m going to f*** Buddy up,” said Broner about Prograis.
It’ll be interesting to see who Al Haymon comes up with for Broner to fight that Showtime will agree to. Santiago was ranked at #15 with the WBA.
So presumably, Broner’s next opponent should be a contender ranked in the top 10, and there are several excellent options for AB if he chooses not to face Prograis next.
Options for Broner:
- Subriel Matias
- Lewis Ritson
- Fabian Andres Maidana
- Ivan Baranchyk
- Pablo Cesar Cano
- Shakhram Giyasov
Prograis slams Broner:
“I’m gonna say it now. AB is past his prime. He’s 31, but he’s an old 31. And he’s been boxing since he was 6, 7 years old, and he’s had too many hard fights. He’s not the old AB.
“His reflexes aren’t there anymore, and he’s slowing down,” said Regis Prograis on Twitter in talking about Broner not being the same guy he once was.
“AB needs to pick up the pace. I would’ve knocked this dude out in less than 5 minutes,” said Prograis.
What Prograis said about Broner is what many people have been saying, and that’s the fact that he’s slowed down in the last eight years.
Yeah, Broner is still young in terms of chronological years at 31, but physically, he looked older than that, and the way he fights, it’s not the way a fighter performs at that age.
You have to look at the heavy punishment that Broner took in his fights against Marcos Maidana, Shawn Porter, Manny Pacquiao, Jessie Vargas, and Mikey Garcia as playing a factor in Broner’s physical deterioration.