Broner vs Garcia in 2015? Broner “I know me and Danny Garcia will one day Clash heads”

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Broner-Garcia

 

Former three division world champion Adrien Broner has recently begun to tease a possible fight with reigning junior welterweight WBC, WBA (Super) and RING champion Danny Garcia via Instagram. After running off an expected list of names (Pacquiao, Maidana, Matthysse, etc.) Broner focused the rest of his post on Danny Garcia:

“… I know me and Danny Garcia will one day Clash heads when the time is Right… I AM A FIGHTER AND TO BE THE BEST YOU HAVE TO FIGHT THE BEST”

That sound you just heard was a collective Ric Flair “WOOO!” from the entire boxing public.

This is one of those dream match-ups that has been talked about for the past year or two and if it were to happen it would be one of the most popular fights of the year. The build-up alone would have the potential to become legendary. Although Garcia and Broner are friends outside of the ring, what happens when Adrien Broner and Angel Garcia begin doing what they do best? I can only imagine the possibilities!

Before I get too carried away, is this even possible? Any time there is a fight this compelling, there are always a number of roadblocks. Manny/Floyd, Kovalev/Stevenson, GGG/Chavez Jr… it’s never easy, and it becomes increasingly rare that it happens at all.

The good news is that Garcia and Broner are both managed by Al Haymon and are kicking off the first two prime-time broadcasts of Premier Boxing Champions on NBC. There are no rival promoters or exclusive TV deals in the way. From that perspective, this is a much easier fight to make than those “never going to happen” fights I previously mentioned. There are a few hurdles though…

There is the matter of weights. Danny has been pretty vocal about moving up to welterweight since last spring. Back in April 2014 Danny spoke with Brian Kenny:

“My next fight, that’s probably going to be my last fight at 140. I’ll go up to 147, so [Broner] might be the next king at 140. I’ve got one more and then, 147; here I come.”

While he still has not moved up to 147, it is worth noting that his last junior-welter “fight” against Rod Salka was at a catch weight of 142 lbs. And his upcoming fight against Lamont Peterson is supposedly a non-title bout and set to be at 143 lbs. It is no secret that the soon to be 27-year-old has outgrown the junior welterweight division.

The situation with Danny’s weight has many implications. Broner made it clear last August that he would like to become a 4-division champion. To do this, he will have to win his next championship at 140. A championship fight at a catch weight is not impossible, but it begs the question: Is it worth it for Broner?

Why should Broner fight a dangerous opponent like Danny Garcia at a catch weight 2-3 lbs? Over the limit? With his late-2013 loss to Maidana, over one year later, Broner is still in the middle of rebuilding his reputation. A knockout loss at this point in his career would be a huge setback.

Another thing a loss to Danny Garcia would do is take Broner out of the running for titles Danny will probably be vacating in the near future anyway. Unless he can convince Garcia to drain himself down to 140, the smart move would be to wait it out until the title vacancy. Once vacant, he can fight for the title against a much less dangerous opponent at the proper (and fair) 140 lb weight limit.

While I would be disappointed by the scenario, I would also have to side with Broner on it. Adrien may blow up between fights, but he isn’t a big guy. At a time when his career is just getting back on track after a huge loss, I believe it is unfair to expect him to fight for a 140 lb. Title at any weight over the limit. Since I don’t believe Danny can make 140 anymore, I have no problem with Broner turning the fight down.

The other roadblock also happens to be the reason we all find the fight so appealing. This fight would be very dangerous for Broner. As the resident bad guy at 140, nothing gets the boxing public more excited within the division than the possibility of Broner getting knocked out. I have no doubt in my mind that Broner is a warrior. His fight with Maidana proved that and left him with no “0” to protect. I’m sure Broner is all about the fight but what about Al Haymon?

Haymon has Adrien Broner fighting John Molina on primetime network television as the main-event on the premier of “PBC on NBC”. We all know that it’s not John Molina’s future that Al Haymon is investing in here. Broner is being positioned for stardom on primetime television against a guy that absorbs an amazing amount of punishment on a dangerously consistent basis.

If there is one guy in Al Haymon’s stable that needs to be protected, it is Adrien Broner. This guy is a star in the making. As long as he keeps winning, the sky’s the limit for his celebrity over the next couple years. A loss hurts Broner more than any other boxer because his stock in trade is being the cocky loudmouth that people want to see lose. With every loss, comes a rebuilding process, smaller fights and less return on the investment.

These are just some of the hurdles, and I didn’t even get into the fact that both Broner and Garcia have fights in the near future. They may be favored to win them, but these fights are certainly not a given.

I would love to see Danny Garcia and Adrien Broner meet in the ring. It’s a really exciting fight between two rising stars. The matchup would involve a build-up between some of the most controversial figures in the sport as well as an interesting style match-up in the ring. Unfortunately, boxing never fails to remind us that it is a business and right now, this one doesn’t make a whole lot of business sense. I would love to be wrong on this one.