Photo by Amanda Westcott/Showtime
On Saturday, July 29, 2017, Showtime’s main event was a highly-anticipated bout between Mikey Garcia (37-0, 30 KOs) and Adrien “The Problem” Broner (33-3, 24 KOs).
Most boxing pundits favored Garcia going into the fight, but no one could really count out Broner. History has shown the Broner can be just as unpredictable in the ring, as he is outside of it.
The bout tonight was a tactical battle in which Garcia outshined The Problem.
In anticipation for this fight, many wondered if a fully focused Broner would show up. Judging from everything we saw from Broner at the press conferences, on social media posts, and at the weigh ins, you have to give Garcia all the credit in the world.
From the opening bell, Garcia illustrated a perfect example of the sweet science.
Both Garcia and Broner are known to be proverbial counterpunchers, so it was interesting to see who would attack first in the fight. It didn’t take long for Garcia to assert himself as the ring general.
After the opening round, Garcia applied pressure on Broner, all while never exposing himself to counter shots. Garcia masterfully positioned himself in an effort to throw blows from various angles. In most rounds, Broner seemed out of his element, despite the multitude of times he would shake his head claiming no harm had been done.
A surprising tactic in Garcia’s arsenal was the use of constant bodywork. Garcia is not known for great bodywork but he’s also not your traditional Mexican fighter either. The common boxing stereotype for Mexican fighters is to be a come-forward attacker and that’s typically not Garcia’s game. Garcia stuck to what he knows best, and that’s put on a clinic of beautiful boxing.
Most of the fight, Broner found himself moving backwards and throwing punches when he was not comfortable. Garcia would cut off the ring and press Broner into his space and would then pick his shots. Broner, who’s not a bad defender, found himself on the receiving end of many hard shots, and sometimes even through his guard.
It was difficult to give AB a round, but he did find some success in the late stages of the fight, although that proved to be too little, too late.
“He’s a good and solid fighter. I was just the better man tonight,” said a confident Garcia after the bout.
“My strategy was to stay busy and apply pressure. I wanted to throw more punches than I have in my other fights. I think my counterpunching is underestimated until you’re actually in there with me,” said Garcia.
With the win, Garcia sets up the stage for some very attractive fights with some big names and dollars signs attached. The names that get tossed around a lot are the likes of Vasyl Lomachenko, Terence Crawford, and Jorge Linares.
“Anybody who wants to join me on Showtime can give me call. We’re ready for anybody,” said Garcia.
As for Broner, this was a defining fight in his career. The extracurricular activities outside of the ring cast a large shadow on the career of Broner and when you add three losses on top of that, it’s hard to determine what he should do next.
At the same time, Broner is still only 28 years old and does possess skills to make him a tough opponent on any given night.
“At the end of the day, I’m still a four-weight champion and I’m still about billions and when I’m done with the sport, I’ll be in the history books,” said Broner.
More often than not, Broner’s comments and actions seem a bit misguided but there is no denying that he does possess a talent for boxing.
Perhaps a layoff and a new team could change the future of Adrien Broner the boxer. Mikey Garcia, on the other hand, is making a strong case for himself to cruise up the pound-for-pound ladder.
Header photo by Marilyn Paulino/RBRBoxing
