As most fight fans already know, current WBA super lightweight world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner (31-2 23ko’s) will be making his return to the ring on April 1st against veteran Ashley Theophane (39-6 11KO’s). The bout will be televised live on Spike TV at 9PM ET/9PM PT.
Four years ago, Adrien Broner was touted to be the next big rising star in the sport by most media and fans alike. At the time, he was still fighting in the super featherweight division and had yet to move up in weight to try and prove his greatness. After defending his WBO super featherweight title against Eloy Perez and Vicente Escobedo in dominant TKO wins, he immediately followed it up with a move up to lightweight and took on and defeated the most dangerous fighter in the division at the time in Antonio Demarco. In that performance, he ended up claiming the WBC lightweight title in what was a career-best performance from the Cincinnati native. Not only did it seem like Broner had world class talent, but he also showed the desire to take on tough challenges. In my opinion, his willingness to prove himself further and take on tough challenges is what eventually lead him to bite off more than he can chew and eventually lose. Broner will always have my respect as a fighter since he could have easily tried to stay at lightweight and defend his title for years but instead opted to skip a weight class and move up to welterweight where he eventually suffered his first defeat after winning a world title at the weight. Adrien Broner is a true gun and a real fighter, and he’s proven it by taking on some tough fights in the past without having to.
Traditionally speaking, Broner likes to walk his opponents down leading with straight right hands and left hooks. This formula worked well in the lighter weight classes where he was fighting naturally much smaller guys. However, Broner quickly found out that he couldn’t do that with the big boys above 135lbs. Broner stands at 5’6 ½ in height and possesses a 69 ½ inch reach. He has great upper body movement and reflexes which help make his head an elusive target for his opponents. However, he seemingly cannot mix defense with offense very well. That is the reason why Paul Malignaggi was able to have success against Broner in their fight back in 2013. Malignaggi kept throwing punches in bunches at a high volume and because of that reason, Broner’s punch count drastically dropped. Simply put, if Broner’s opponent is throwing punches at him he’s often busy focusing on blocking and slipping punches but not throwing back in return. He makes the mistake of waiting for his opponents to finish throwing in order for him to start punching back. This is the biggest problem “The Problem” has from a technical boxing standpoint. However, Broner obviously has many other great qualities any fighter would want, such as speed, good reflexes, above average punching power, and good physical strength for the division.
Ashley Theophane on the other hand is a veteran from England who trains out of the Mayweather Gym in Las Vegas, Nevada. He stands at 5’8 and possesses a reach of 67 inches. Stylistically I consider him to be a boxer. He usually prefers to move in the ring and work of a jab. However, He’s not a physically strong fighter and lacks punching power. Throughout the build up to this fight, Theophane has been telling many media outlets that he is going to employ an aggressive pressure style in this fight with Broner and throw punches in bunches. Fighting in that manner seems a bit out of character for Ashley and his lack of power will not help him employ this type of strategy.
I can’t imagine any possible scenario in this fight where Ashley Theophane wins unless he completely manages to outwork Broner throughout the course of the whole fight. But in order for that to happen, Theophane must employ a high volume punch output and drown Broner with his activity. I personally can’t see him managing to pull off that type of game plan for an extended amount of time since its so out of character for a fighter like him. Regardless, I am looking forward to watching this fight on a Friday evening since Broner never fails excite or attract attention!
