With the two biggest stars in the junior welterweight division fighting within weeks of each other, we could only speculate on a possible future fight between Danny Garcia and Adrien Broner.
Adrien “The Problem” Broner (29-1,22KOs) will take on John “The Warrior” Molina Jr. (27-5,22KO’s) in a co-feature on the inaugural programming of “PBC on NBC”, as Professional Boxing returns to network television on March 7, from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Broner looks to make his ascension in the 140lb division and silence his critics after his loss to hard-hitting Marcos Miadana two fights ago. With two victories via unanimous decision following his defeat, Broner still struggles to extinguish the questions that follow him. The Problem looks to step up his competition against a game Molina with fight changing power. Adrien Broner looks to prove that he could take the power of a heavy-handed, 140-pounder.
Danny Swift Garcia (29-0, 17 KOs) the WBC and WBA junior welterweight champ will take on IBF titleholder, Lamont “Havoc” Peterson (33-2-1,17 KOs), at the Barclays Center. The contest will be held in the second edition of, The Premier Boxing Champions on NBC, April 11, in a non-title match at a catch-weight of 143 pounds. This fight promises to be an action-packed bout and an excellent beginning for Al Haymon’s brainchild, PBC.
Garcia is coming off two victories after defeating a common foe in Lucas Matthysse, who knocked out Peterson in 3 rounds. Garcia pursues a continuation of his unblemished record and will attempt to maintain his position on top of the 140 pounds division.
Thaboxingvoice.com caught up with Al Bernstein, who gave his thoughts on a possible future bout between Garcia and Broner if both can secure a win in their next fights.
“Garcia is a tricky matchup for Broner. I don’t know that Broner can hurt him if you remember Garcia took monstrous punches from Matthysse.”
Bernstein explains, “When he (Broner) can’t hurt a fighter, he is not an active fighter. So, it’s harder for him to win decisions against people he can’t hurt.”
Adrien would be the first to disagree and has essentially called out his self-proclaimed friend Garcia stating, “If he got the green belt if he still got it, I have to have it.” Although this statement was made in 2013, the stars could not align any better, as we could possibly be on the cusp of this well-awaited fight.
Garcia is the bigger and better fighter. He has also proven himself against better opposition. Danny has taken hard punches from the likes of Lucas Matthysse and has overcome the speed and skill of Amir Khan. Broner can bring a little of both to the table, but I am not sure his power from 135 pounds has translated enough to impact the elite at 140 pounds. I wouldn’t call a knockout in this fight, but I don’t believe Broner’s offensive style would be able to deter the current champ. There are rumors that Danny is looking to move 147, but a possible catch-weight fight could be in the cards.
Garcia and Broner are both stars in the boxing world, and bringing them to network television could only increase their stock amongst the casual boxing fans. If both fighters can get the job done, we can only hope to see a fight between the young superstars in 2015.
