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by Gianluca Ferrari Published on 02-18-2013 10:14 PM
Following Broner’s recent dominant outing at lightweight it is probably time to muse as to whether he is the real deal. Now to consider his impressive ledger (which reads 26-0) with 22 Knockouts, it is easy to see why he is so highly regarded within the boxing community.
The fight with Gavin Rees went as many expected, Gavin put up a decent account of his bravery, but he was hopelessly outmatched. After the first scouting round Broner’s accuracy was starting to already make a dent by the end of the second round. By the end of the third Rees was against the ropes receiving reining blows to his body from different angles and it was clear at this point that Broner’s skillset was too much for the brave Rees. The fourth round Rees was felled by a monstrous right uppercut he never saw coming. Many others would have withered and taken the merciful ten count, but not the Welshman, he was up and ready to go. Though he showed the will to fight it was all over when he was next floored by a body punch. Eventually Gary Lockett did the necessaries to spare his fighter for another day. Its clear Broner has the speed and power to move up in weight and is leagues above in the lightweight division, incredible but not thoroughly tested.
On paper and to watch it all looks inviting, but to the nitty and gritty, it should be highlighted that many of Broner’s opponents haven’t been near a standard required to make the champion break a sweat. Foolishly there will be those that theorise that being too offensive minded would suit Broner and that he would be able to pick opponents off A-La-Mayweather. Though there are similarities between the two it should be noted (taking the Rees fight into consideration) that Broner is there to be hit.
According to Compubox Rees landed 34% of his punches which is a fairly high output considering how slick Broner can be. Therefore the question must be what happens if he comes up against a fighter who has fast hands? Will he stand and trade? Looking at previous fights, there is a suggestion that Broner likes to dominate his opponents when moving on the front foot. As a result there are many attractive fights at 140lbs with fighters that could answer the questions that the doubters have.
It takes many attributes to make a top class fighter; all of these Broner seems to have with his natural gifts and instincts. Hand-speed, footwork and the ability to counter are his bread and butter. With these he has systematically dismantled his opponents thus far; what we haven’t seen is what is deep inside him. Character. That is what separates so many of the good fighters from the elite fighters. A move to the 140lbs division against other world class fighters such as Amir Khan and Danny Garcia will show what Broner really has in his locker. Danny Garcia is a mouth-watering clash on paper, can Broner avoid Garcia’s famed left hook, if he can’t what effect could that have during the fight? These are thoughts that remain unfulfilled for now, and it’s hard to argue that what he has accomplished so far in boxing shouldn’t be praised.
Flashy in his entrance to the ring and Imperious inside it, Broner has the real makings of a superstar at just 23 years of age. Be that as it may, it could be a while until we find out how good he can really be as he moves through the weigh classes. A potential dust up with Ricky Burns or Vazquez may be more testing but ultimately will show that Broner is the best at lightweight. To make his way up the pound for pound rankings, he will have to take some ‘super fights’ at the higher weight classes to show the boxing world he is the new American Superstar of Boxing. As for now all we can say is that there are still some questions to be answered as to whether Adrien Broner is the real deal… but it will be a intriguing and eventful journey finding out.
Nice read mate. I think he's the real deal but Rees forced him to change his game plan I reckon.
It's a shame he overpowered Rees in the end, would have been interesting if he got dragged into the trenches... I am hoping to see more of him in tougher fights, definitely one to watch.
nice article. an unbias piece for a change.
now, lets ask ourselves, how many great fighters fought great fighter before turning 24 ? no one can say AB is being carefully guided. he is simply fighting those who is willing to fight him. as of right now, i dont see anyone at below ww giving AB any trouble (unless jmm can move down and be just as dangerous).
maybe rios, maybe bradley, maybe khan (doubtful though).
other possible tough fights at jr ww(stylewise and on paper);
lucas m (AB's speed/power should prvail)
danny g (see lucas)
rios (would be a classic)
there are fights out there that should give us a better indication of who good/great AB is. right now hes simply steamrolling over 98% of his opponents. kinda like what tyson did. while tysons sad victims were accidental champs, he was recognized as a ''legit'' great. AB is still considered a hype job by some. people get too caught up in his outside shit to be logical. he is an action fighter who seeks the ko. me thought thats what boxing fans want ?!?!?!?
by the way..................
burns
I am sort of having this niggling doubt that he may stick around at light with no REAL fights and waste his best years. He's only young now but who's to say he's not peaking now?Originally Posted by theproudlunatic
nice article. an unbias piece for a change.
now, lets ask ourselves, how many great fighters fought great fighter before turning 24 ? no one can say AB is being carefully guided. he is simply fighting those who is willing to fight him. as of right now, i dont see anyone at below ww giving AB any trouble (unless jmm can move down and be just as dangerous).
maybe rios, maybe bradley, maybe khan (doubtful though).
other possible tough fights at jr ww(stylewise and on paper);
lucas m (AB's speed/power should prvail)
danny g (see lucas)
rios (would be a classic)
there are fights out there that should give us a better indication of who good/great AB is. right now hes simply steamrolling over 98% of his opponents. kinda like what tyson did. while tysons sad victims were accidental champs, he was recognized as a ''legit'' great. AB is still considered a hype job by some. people get too caught up in his outside shit to be logical. he is an action fighter who seeks the ko. me thought thats what boxing fans want ?!?!?!?
by the way..................
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hes going to outgrow lw for sure.
AB is the real deal and he's only gonna improve
Tommy Hearns. Fought Sugar Ray Leonard the first time at age 22.
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Considering the fights that are available to him at lightweight I can't imagine he will stay in that division too much longer. He definitely has the potential to work through the weights, providing it doesn't hamper his speed (which I also can't imagine would happen).
i never said they didnt/dont exist. just how many. all of 1 huh. some BA members have lousy reasons for hating a guy.
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