Garcia/Broner: Will They/Won’t They?

04/13/201504/13/2015 Olly Campbell

It feels like a long time now that the names Danny Garcia and Adrien Broner have been mentioned alongside each other.

The latest installment in the will they?/Won’t they drama came at the weekend, when Broner was ringside for Garcia’s hotly disputed “gift” decision against Lamont Peterson. The Ohio born motor-mouth, coincidentally alongside Garcia’s father Angel, is one of the most disliked and divisive figures in all of boxing, so the prospect of those two personalities clashing in the build up would be entertaining from a fan perspective to say the least. Neither Garcia Snr, nor Broner are ever short of something to say.

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PBC is The One and Keith Thurman’s a Close 2nd

03/10/201503/08/2015 Paul Strauss

Premiere Boxing Champions (PBC) series kicked off on NBC with junior welterweight Adrien “The Problem” Broner’s one-sided victory over John Molina, Jr. came as no surprise at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. The surprise was the total ineptitude of Molina. Boxing fans know he is clumsy and without much skill, but they also know he has a big heart and can punch.

Unfortunately, PBC hoped for a barn burner with Molina. Instead the flames were doused when Molina failed to press the fight as promised. He impressed no one except for Referee Robert Byrd, who early on warned him to keep his head up. Molina’s style was head down, eyes closed, throwing wild right hand swings. He impressed no one, including the crowd.

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Thurman defeats Guerrero; Broner decisions Molina

03/10/201503/07/2015 Jeff Sorby

WBA 147lb champion Keith Thurman (25-0, 21 KOs) gave Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (32-3-1, 18 KOs) a methodical beating in winning a 12 round unanimous decision tonight in their fight on NBC in the Premier Boxing Champion series at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The judges scored the fight 120-107, 118-109 and 118-108. Guerrero was cut over his left eye and knocked down in the 9th round after getting tagged hard by a left hand from Thurman.

In the 3rd, Thurman and Guerrero rammed heads with each other, leaving Thurman was a big goose egg on the left side of his forehead.

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“PBC” on NBC: Spotlight Shines On Keith Thurman & Adrien Broner

03/10/201503/07/2015 Vivek Wallace

Tonight, for the first time in nearly 30 years, Boxing will return to non-subscription based television as NBC is set to air the “Premiere Boxing Champions” series. During its well documented absence, those in and around the sport have pushed for this effort. What was once a wish is now a reality, and what that reality means for two men at the center of this spectacle could be very intriguing after the final bells.

Since their arrival to the sport, both Adrien “The Problem” Broner (29-1, 22KO’s) and Keith “One Time” Thurman (24-0, 21KO’s) have lived in the proverbial ‘under the radar but above the rim’ echelon of the sport. Heavy with the hands, yet light with sympathy for anyone standing across from them with plans to prevent their rise to the top. While very different in presentation, there is a lone common thread between these two talents. Both seem to embody that patented “it” factor, making them easy to love, yet equally easy to hate.

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Broner vs. Molina/Thurman vs. Guerrero: 4 Fighters 2 Crossroad Fights on NBC

03/07/201503/06/2015 Chris Carlson

Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions on NBC brings boxing back on free television with the winners likely to get a bump in terms of overall marketing reach and the potential viewership. All four fighters in the co-main events will face a crossroads in their respected careers. Two promising young boxers face two veteran fighters that have already been through the ringer a time or two.

Al Haymon will of course have a plan to feature the newly crowned Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder on NBC but the favorites for this Saturday night’s card are crucial to the success of the PBC on NBC as well. Adrien Broner being a full fledge named fighter in the sport and a young counterpunching knockout artist who remains unbeaten in 25 fights Keith Thurman.

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Seven days until the debut of Premier Boxing Champions

02/28/201502/28/2015 NBC Sports

In seven days, on Saturday, March, 7, boxing returns to primetime broadcast television with the debut of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC at 8:30 p.m. ET. The debut of PBC on NBC features a pair of blockbuster bouts — Keith Thurman vs. Robert Guerrero, and Adrien Broner vs. John Molina Jr. — from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Blow-by-blow announcer Marv Albert and analyst “Sugar” Ray Leonard call the action. Al Michaels will host. Laila Ali and B.J. Flores serve as corner analysts, joined by reporter Kenny Rice.

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Broners trainer Mike Stafford: ‘He’s got to box this guy’

02/27/201502/27/2015 James Sexton

In an interview with FightHype, trainer Mike Stafford seems to know what his fighter has to do come fight night with John Molina Jr in the other corner. When discussing the fight, Stafford came right out and said that Broner would need to box this guy to get the win.

Whether he outboxes him and uses his skills to take the decision, or turns up the heat later and gets the stoppage, he would need to stick to a strict gameplan to win this one. I agree with this approach, as we saw from the Maidana fight that Broner could potentially have trouble with powerful, come forward type fighters.

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Broner has to make a statement vs Molina to stay relevant

02/09/201502/09/2015 James Sexton

Adrien Broner is a three weight world champion already so his name will always hold some weight. The point I am trying to highlight in this article is that very few fighters make it to the very top of the sport where they become household names and make ridiculous amount of money. When you look at the forbes list of highest paid athletes you see a boxer in the number 1 spot, but then you see only 1-2 other boxers in the top 25. There is a sharp dropoff between an elite star and a ‘good’ fighter.

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John Molina Jr looking to shock the world on March 7th

02/03/2015 James Sexton

On March 7th 2015 Adrien Broner will meet his toughest test since his upset loss to Marcos Maidana at the end of 2013 in John Molina Jr. Broner has had two fights since that Maidana fight in decision wins over Carlos Molina and Emmanuel Taylor. Broner has not looked the same since he left the lightweight division after beating Gavin Rees in Februrary of 2013. At this point it is not clear whether the step up in competition or the additional weight are causing him issues but it is clear that he was a different fighter back then.

It has to be seen as a dangerous move to put Broner in with John Molina at this point in his career because Molina has a similar aggressive, come forward style that Maidana employed to hurt and nearly stop Broner in their bout. Molina does have five losses to his name, but he also has twenty-seven wins and twenty-two of those have been stoppages. These figures demonstrate the knockout capability of the fighter.

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The Super Lightweight Picture

02/02/201502/01/2015 James Sexton

There are a number of interesting matchups occurring in the 140lb division in the next few months, most notably a showdown between the IBF Champion Lamont Peterson and the lineal Champion Danny Garcia. Garcia had a terrible year in 2014 despite actually winning both of his bouts. This must be seen as the best opponent he has faced since his showdown with Argentinean slugger Lucas Matthysse in 2013.

Also former three weight world Champ Adrien Broner will take on pressure fighter John Molina Jr. Whilst I personally wouldn’t rate Molina as a top 15 fighter in this division, it is interesting seeing Broner in with someone who can punch after his disastrous performance against Marcos Maidana when they fought.

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