Antonio DeMarco vs. Adrien Broner: Broner’s keys to victory
Much plaudits and praise have been heaped upon the undefeated Adrien ‘The Problem’ Broner. The combination of his skill set in the ring and his brash persona outside of it , have made the Golden boy fighter one of boxing’s most highly touted prospects and a possible heir to Floyd Mayweather’s PPV throne.
As is the same with all hyped prospects, detractors rightly want to see them sufficiently challenged before lavished with plaudits. Those skeptical of Broner can rightly say to date his competition level has been limited. That all changes on the 17th November at the Boardwalk hall in Atlantic City, Broner will take on a legitimate challenge as he moves up a division to face arguably the best lightweight in the world: Antonio DeMarco for the WBC title.
Broner will still be favored in this fight but no doubt answer many questions as to the legitimacy of his projected superstar status. Let’s look at some of the key points for Broner to take a step closer to potential boxing stardom.
Act like a Prizefighter
It’s the age old cliché; talent can only get you so far in boxing. Whilst Broner has drawn comparisons to Floyd Mayweather: Boxing style/skills. Where Broner and Mayweather differ greatly at present, is in professionalism. In Broner’s last fight, a super feather-weight title defense against Vicente Escobedo. Broner not only came in over 3lb’s overweight at the official weigh in, but failed the fight day weight limit causing untold problems in enabling the fight to even take place.
Antics like this, not only demonstrate lack of preparation as well as professionalism but puts you in the bad books of the major networks which equals bad business. These are issues you don’t associate with top p4p fighters. It’s possible Broner just outgrew the 130 pound division, but any repeats of weight issues will have a big negative impact starting with the task at hand in DeMarco.
Go to the body
Broner has displayed a great assortment of punches in his victories to date and has been able to overwhelm previous opponents. In this fight and future fights of similar or higher competition he won’t be able to tee off at will, as he has in the past. In his last fight, Broner showed an improved commitment in attacking the body, both with a consistent jab to the midriff and mixing in ripping body shots. Demarco is game, tough and can skillfully apply pressure. To slow him down and open him up, Broner is going to have to continue in this commitment to the body to slow down and open up DeMarco.
Focus and Patience
Big crowd, bright lights and a big stage: Broner is going to be keen to win and win impressively. But he can’t just turn up and expect to go through the motions he will have to methodically break down DeMarco, this may not necessarily be a stoppage win and Broner has to be prepared for that.
DeMarco hung in with one of the greatest KO artist’s of our generation: the late Edwin Valero and wasn’t even knocked down in the proceedings.
If Broner get’s trigger happy and starts to force a knockout he will be primed to be caught. DeMarco is a very skilled and underrated counter puncher with power. Broner just needs to maintain a disciplined, focused game plan and trust in his superior skills
