By Matt Lieberman: Adrien Broner’s comeback fight against Jovanie Santiago for Saturday will now be contested at 147 pounds rather than the 140 lbs that it was initially supposed to take place at.
(Photo credit: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME)
The Broner vs. Santiago fight will take place in the welterweight division when the two meet in their headliner match on Showtime at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
It’s not that surprising that the weight is being moved up because Broner didn’t look thin and drawn the way he’d been looking during the last two weeks.
Broner looked too healthy today
You could tell by looking at how big Broner was today that he wasn’t going to be fighting at 140. Broner had reportedly lost over 35 pounds training for the fight with Santiago, and it’s unclear whether he needed to lose another 5 or 10 lbs.
When a person puts a lot of weight the way Broner has, it’s almost impossible for them to lose it and still be athletically fit to compete.
Losing a lot of weight weakens an athlete, and it looks like Broner made the decision not to lose the weight he needed to for him to get down to 140. The question now is will Broner be able to make 147 on Friday?
I’d like to think he can, but it won’t be surprised if there’s another agreement to have the weight moved up again. It’s pathetic actually, but it tells you a lot about Broner’s future or lack thereof.
He was much too big and showed no signs of being emaciated the way he’s been looking during the last two weeks.
Showtime added this message with their press release on the weight change:
“The main event, previously announced as a super lightweight fight, will now be contested at the welterweight limit (147 lbs.) following a mutual decision from both fighters.”
What’s unclear is if Santiago (14-0-1, 10 KOs) will be getting a bump up in pay for the weight change or if he’ll be getting his normal paycheck.
It’s not an advantage for Santiago, 31, to have the weight moved to 147 lbs because he fights at 140. Look at it this way. If Broner struggled with the weight to get down to 140, that would benefit Santiago and give him a better chance to beat him.
So by having the weight moved up to 147, it’s giving Broner a big advantage, which is fine but it’s not a benefit to Santiago unless he’s getting paid more.
Adrien will need to make 140 to challenge for titles
Broner is going to have to make 140 in the future, whether he likes it or not if he hopes to capture a world title.
It’s already been well established that he’s not talented enough to beat welterweights, even the fringe-level 147-pounders like Jessie Vargas. Broner couldn’t beat him either.
Broner will need to get to 140 when it comes time for him to fight for a world title at light welterweight, and it’s doubtful that he’ll even get that far.
If Broner has to fight one of the talented 140-pounders like Regis Prograis to get a title shot at light-welterweight, it’ll probably end in disaster.
“I just feel like I’ve got what it takes to win more championships in different weight classes so that’s what I’m going to do,” said Broner during Thursday’s final press conference.
As far as this writer is concerned, the old chance the 31-year-old Broner has of winning a world title is if he goes after one of the secondary belts at 140 against Mario Barrios, the WBA ‘regular’ champion.
Broner probably can’t make 135 and still be healthy, so him moving down to lightweight to go after one of the titles in that weight class it pretty much out of the question.
“Listen, if you got a belt, just hold on to it. I’m coming to sweep it all up; WBA, WBO, WBC, IBF. I’m coming to get them all,” said Broner.