Photo by Naoki Fukada
Carlos Molina was supposed to lose Saturday night at the MGM Grand. He was there strictly to allow his opponent to look good. Molina, whose toughness and heart won’t be questioned anytime soon, tried valiantly to pull off the upset. The problem was that his boxing skills aren’t quite on par with his tenacity.
Adrien Broner on the other hand, possesses all the skills and tools necessary to dominate the sport of boxing for years to come. He has blazing hand speed and reflexes, sound footwork, and while he doesn’t quite have the power of say, Lucas Matthysse, he hits hard enough to put quite a few guys to sleep.
Carlos Molina should have been one of those guys.
Instead, Broner displayed all the urgency of a high school pot head in gym class. It’s quickly becoming just as likely to see him sleepwalk through several rounds as it is to see him thrusting into his opponent’s backside for funzies.
It would seem that a man who is fresh off his first loss, a fight in which he was utterly outworked and frequently embarrassed, would be a bit more interested in getting his career back in order.
It wasn’t long ago that boxing folks were anointing him as boxing’s next pound-for-pound king. How can he get back to that platform?
All of the clowning and idiotic behavior seems to just be a way for him to loosen up and have fun, but one wonders if he’d be better served adjusting his technique in the gym rather than becoming a spokesperson for the pleasantries of gonorrhea on social media.
There’s nothing wrong with having a good time in the ring, but it seems pretty obvious that it’s becoming a detriment to him. It was simply bizarre to see him continue to clown Marcos Maidana last December, all while getting beaten to a pulp.
He was able to get away with it against Molina, who is nowhere near his level, but did anyone watching the fight Saturday think he’d have a chance in hell of beating Matthysse, or Danny Garcia?
Broner would be wise to eliminate most of the extracurricular stuff in the ring, and just stick to the business at hand.
That business would be the next issue for Broner. While it’s well-known that he idolizes his “big brother” Floyd Mayweather, it’s been maddening to watch him try to fight like Floyd, especially when it seems counterintuitive to his own set of skills.
Mayweather relies on brilliant defense and a genius-level boxing I.Q. to beat his opponents. He has a technique that he utilizes perfectly. Tucked behind that left shoulder, he waits for his target to get into position and then fires perfectly-timed right hands. It works for Mayweather.
Photo by Naoki Fukada
As hard as Broner tries and as badly as he wants it to be true, he’s just not that guy. In fact, Broner’s weakness seems to be his defense. While Mayweather has been damn near impossible to hit, Broner doesn’t have that luxury. For a guy with that much speed and quickness, he sure gets hit a hell of a lot.
To get back into the elite conversation, Broner needs to realize that he’s not fighting to his strengths enough. While he lacks an elite defense, his superb hand speed and punching accuracy is on par with any of the best fighters in the sport. He just needs to go to work.
When he’s throwing punches, Broner is incredibly difficult to beat. Though Marcos Maidana pounded him mercilessly throughout their fight last year, Broner was still able to crack Maidana with pretty much anything he threw at him. He just couldn’t do it enough. Bottom line – forget the defensive posturing. It’s not working. Fire away.
He has a seemingly endless arsenal of punches to choose from. His power shots, while often looping, are deadly accurate, as is his jab. For some reason, he doesn’t use the the whole fleet. He spends too much time standing in the pocket without throwing a punch, choosing instead to mug his opponent.
His other issue? HE NEEDS TO STOP TALKING.
Good grief, has there been a more hated figure to come out of boxing since, well, Mayweather? For all of Floyd’s issues, and they’re well-documented, he at least shows some respect and humility for his opponent when the fight is over. Broner didn’t get that memo.
It’s actually pretty uncomplicated for “The Problem.” If he ups his offensive output, he’ll be extremely difficult to beat. If he cleans himself up in the ring, he’s skilled enough that he’ll be able to say or do pretty much whatever he likes outside of it.
People will pay to watch a side-show, as long as it’s good.
Right now, Broner is teetering on the high wire.
Header photo by Hogan Photos
