This Saturday boxing is back in a big way. Not only are some big boxing names in action this week, but it will be the debut of Premiere Boxing Champions. Al Haymon seems to want to take boxing back to nationally televised TV, and he’s doing that with PBC. The opening event will be a co-headlining doubleheader featuring Keith “One Time” Thurman squaring off against Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero. Also Adrien “The Problem” Broner steps into the ring against the hard punching John Molina Jr.
Keith Thurman is one of the young stars of the sport. The 26-year-old Thurman has an undefeated record of 24-0 with 21 KOs and has lived up to his “One Time” name, by showing one punch KO power against several opponents. Thurman’s career was on a steady incline upward after stopping Jesus Soto Karass in December of 2013, but after that, between injuries and time off, he only has fought twice since then. For a young fighter, the worst recipe to stop momentum is lack of activity. Thurman needs to get back on the right track and hope to do that on a big stage.
Robert Guerrero is solid top 10 Welterweight that has good in ring experience against fighters like Andre Berto, Malcolm Klassen, Orlando Salido, and Floyd Mayweather. He will be stepping into the ring with a record of 32-2-1 with 18 KOs. This is the 15th year of professional fighting for the 31-year-old Guerrero and he is hoping to show everyone that his career still has some life in it. Will he be an aging journeyman or will he shock the world and stop the rising stud Thurman?
Guerrero has never been stopped in his career, and he facing someone that seems to stop everyone. Thurman’s last fight against Bundu showed off his skill as he dominated every round in a clean sweep, but he couldn’t stop him. As much as it’s good to show off his skill, Thurman’s M.O. is taking people out, so it would be beneficial for him to be the 1st one to stop Guerrero. I think with the show that is expected to be put on, and the energy of the night, Thurman will be hyped up to put his name on the fast track for stardom. Because of that, I’m taking Thurman by 9th round stoppage.
The 25-year-old Adrien Broner is the type of fighter that people either seem to love him or hate him. Broner has a record of 29-1 with 22 KOs. His fights have been filled with flashiness, trash talking, and excitement. In his last fight, he had a dramatic 12th round knockdown in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. Broner beat Emmanuel Taylor, but he is also remembered for the fight he lost to Marcos Maidana just a year earlier. Love him or hate him, one thing you can never call Adrien Broner is boring.
John Molina Jr (27-5 with 22 KOs) is a hard punching 32-year old puncher from California. Even though he has five losses, they were to boxers like Lucas Matthysse, Antonio DeMarco, and Humberto Soto, so it’s not like he was losing to bums. His most exciting fight was his fight with Matthysse that was filled with four knockdowns and was looked at as one of the fights of the year last year. He isn’t look at as a highly technically skilled boxer, so he will be definitely looking for the knockout blow to end Broner at every chance. This is Molina’s chance to make a name for his self in the junior welterweight division.
This will be the fight of the night in my opinion. Broner can be flat-footed at times, and it leads him to get hit more than he should. Molina wants to have this fight in a phone booth so he will be willing to square up. Broner is at best when he can bully his opponent, but Molina is not the type to be bullied. I don’t see any way that this fight can go the distance, and I can easily see a couple knockdowns early within the 1st 2-3 rounds. I feel Broner is a better-skilled fighter than people give him credit for, and he will mix in enough technical boxing with hard punches to have this fight stopped. My prediction is that Molina gets stopped on his feet in round seven or eight.
The fight probably shouldn’t be in Las Vegas at the MGM, as it may have some issues with tickets being sold for four fighters that aren’t named Mayweather or Pacquiao. That being said it should still be an exciting event if you can make it out there. It kicks off what will be a great three months of boxing action that will, of course, be climaxed with the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao mega-fight on May 2nd. But before we get to that, there are numerous great fights between now and then. The best part about this event is that boxing will be seen by more people, and that’s a good thing, most of the time, enjoy the fights.
