By Allan Fox: Adrien ‘The Problem’ Broner will return to the ring next month on August 20th against Omar Figueroa in the main event on Showtime in Hollywood, Florida.
The 32-year-old Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs) hasn’t conclusively won a fight since 2016, and you argue that he’s lost his last five fights coming into the August 20th match against former WBC lightweight champion Figueroa (28-2-1, 19 KOs).
There’s no word yet what weight the Broner vs. Figueroa fight will take place at, but it’s likely to be at 147. That’s the weight Broner has consistently been fighting at in the last four years, and he’s not effective.
It’s unclear what Showtime is expecting from the former four-division world champion Broner because it’s clear that he’s not going to suddenly return to the form he had ten years ago when he was in the zenith of his career in 2012.
That was Broner at 22, and he’s not the same fighter now that he was back when he beat the likes of Antonio DeMarco, Vincente Escobedo, Eloy Perez, and Vicente Martín Rodríguez.
Broner’s last five fights:
- Jovanie Santiago – UD 12 win
- Manny Pacquiao – UD 12 loss
- Jessie Vargas – Draw 12
- Mikey Garcia – UD 12 loss
- Adrian Granados SD 10 win
Broner hasn’t taken advantage of his potential earlier in his career, and it’s believed he’s enjoyed himself too much outside of the ring. He hasn’t taken his craft seriously enough to dedicate himself to staying busy, losing weight, and getting back down to 135 & 130 divisions.
If Broner loses to Figueroa, which won’t be surprising, it’ll be interesting to see if Showtime continues to televise his fights moving forward.
Figueroa, 32, is coming into the Broner fight with a two-fight losing streak, having lost to Abel Ramos and Yordenis Ugas. His last victory was three years ago when he beat a shot-looking John Molina Jr by a 10-round decision.
In the chief support bout, light welterweights Alberto Puello (20-0, 10 KOs) and Batyr Akhmedov (10-1, 8 KOs) will be battling for the vacant WBA 140-lb title recently given up by Josh Taylor.
Puello and Akhmedov have one thing in common. They have fought obscure opposition and haven’t proven themselves worthy of battling for the vacant WBA 140-lb title.
It’s unknown why the World Boxing Association has given Akhmedov a #1 ranking and Puello #2, as neither fighter has beaten anyone significant. Of course, the sanctioning bodies always do this kind of thing.
They give out high rankings to poor fighters, and you then see those fighters blown out of the water when they face a halfway decent contender.
Akhmedov lost to Mario Barrios by a decisive 12-round unanimous decision in September 2019, getting dropped twice by him. Barrios isn’t a big puncher, but he was still able to drop Akhmedov twice.
“Alberto Puello vs. Batyr Akhmedov (WBA World Super Lightweight) will finally be the co-main event for Broner-Figueroa on August 20th in Hollywood, Florida,” said Julius Julianis on social media.
