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.
“Bring it to Philly, we can do it next in Philly.” was Garcia’s response post- Peterson when asked by Ring Tv about the prospect of the match-up that has fans on both sides of the Atlantic rubbing their hands together in gleeful anticipation.
Obviously there are some questions that need answering. The first being just what is happening with Garcia moving to 147lbs? He has been asserting he wants to do this for a long time yet it doesn’t seem to be happening and as has been suggested in many quarters that this is as a result of Angel being resistant to the idea. However, he obviously isn’t comfortable at 140 as the last couple of catch weight fights have shown us. Garcia has stated on many occasions that he feels he would be more powerful at 147lb but what a beast of a division to move up too. Physically, if they do fight, I see Garcia wanting it at either a) Another catch weight. Or B) At the full 147.
Despite his status as a 3 weight world champ, Broner’s past forays into the welterweight division haven’t been fantastic if we assess them honestly have they? The decision over Paulie Malignaggi was hard fought for in a close fight that wasn’t the statement performance Broner promised everyone going in. As I often say, a win is a win however, and he did win that fight but after promising to box Maidana black and blue in his first defence, we instead saw an arrogant over-hyped Mayweather wannabe finally get his comeuppance in more ways than one the night. When Maidana “humped” the disrespectful Broner back in that fight, it was one of the most fitting and funny moments I’d seen in-ring in a long time.
I’m not trying to do Broner too much of a dis-service here, as his accomplishments, at such a young age, are nothing short of impressive. He is by far a better and stronger fighter down at 140 which is where he slinked off back to after the Maidana fight.
Either way, after another poor Garcia performance, Broner has decided to try and move in for the kill. He might be underestimating Garcia slightly because of those performances against Herrera and Peterson, and what weight the fight would take place at is certainly a factor for me.
Broner isn’t a huge guy and Garcia is the taller man although Broner perhaps unexpectedly, has the slightly longer reach. What is worth noting is that with such a divisive personality, Adrien Broner is one of those fighters fans tune in to see get knocked out. I’m of the belief that Garcia is more than capable of taking him out with a big left hand and should the fight get made it would be huge if Al Haymon (who looks after both) would get it on his PBC format that has recently launched Stateside on terrestrial tv.
For now it’s very much a “watch this space” situation and I expect Broner will continue firing shots like the most recent that kicked this off all over again.
“Great fight Garcia and Lamont. Happy nobody got severely hurt. I got love for both guys but Lamont is closer to me so I was going with him. Now that out the way, here’s my message to my friend and homie Danny Garcia ; heal up, get back in the gym and fight me in September, MGM Grand in Vegas….”
For a fight that seems such a long time in the making, it’s definitely one fans on both sides of the Atlantic are praying gets put together.
Thanks for reading as always. Twitter @undilutedpoison
