Adrien Broner and Mikey Garcia meet in New York after Carl Frampton fight cancelled
Despite the disappointment of Frampton's cancellation, there could be a fight of the year contender on the other side of the Atlantic
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Your support makes all the difference.Tonight was intended to be a significant evening for the lighter weight classes in boxing, with two intriguing fights set on either side of the Atlantic Ocean. In Brooklyn the undefeated Mikey Garcia meets the controversial Adrien Broner in a light welterweight clash, but Carl Frampton’s scheduled Belfast bout with Andres Gutierrez will now no longer take place.
A fiasco Friday first saw Frampton miss weight by a pound for their proposed featherweight bout, before Gutierrez slipped in the shower later that night, breaking two teeth and suffering facial cuts. The disappointment of the cancellation will be felt not just by broadcaster Channel 5 and the thousands who had purchased tickets for the event, but also by boxing fans who were looking forward to seeing Frampton’s return to Northern Ireland.
No pressure on Garcia and Broner then, but if they could have a fight of the year contender to make up for the disappointment, that would be great.
In any other sport 29-year-old Mikey Garcia would be a bona fide superstar considering his accolades, but boxing is more fickle than most. 36-0 across an 11 year career, Garcia has won world titles in three different weights, and is one of the most powerful fighters of his ilk.
Garcia spent over two years out of the ring between 2014 and 2016 due to promotional issues, but has returned with a vengeance. Destructive victories over Elio Rojas and the previously undefeated WBC lightweight champion Dejan Zlaticanin have reaffirmed his reputation as a truly great fighter, and his move up to light welterweight is designed to add another world title to his collection.
To get a title shot he’ll have to defeat Adrien Broner, who though once regarded as a potential great, has instead been defined by his ill-discipline both in and out of the ring. Broner won his first 27 fights as a professional, and claimed three world titles at three different weights in the process, but he has never looked the same fighter since a crushing 2013 defeat to Marcos Maidana.
A subsequent 2015 loss to Shawn Porter further damaged the allure of Broner, who has looked average at best in recent victories. The man known as ‘The Problem’ has now become a liability. Countless court appearances, charges, worrying Instagram posts and weight gain have led many to believe that he’s past his prime at 28.
‘It's a hell of a match-up and, if you ask me, it's one of the biggest fights of the year. It's going to be one hell of a show,’ said Broner in the build-up, but it’s likely he’s going to need significant fireworks to cause an upset.
Garcia too is equally confident of success. ‘I'm ready to do whatever it takes. I feel that my power and speed will be there. All my abilities are there, so I don't feel that can affect me in any way.’
Speed may be the attribute this fight is determined by. Garcia is fast on his feet and with his hands, but it’s his head that represents his biggest asset. For all his physical gifts, he’s always thinking in the ring, forever analysing the logical next step. Broner’s career has been fought on emotion, and he has always struggled with fighters who have to make him think.
Paul Malignaggi frustrated him hugely in their 2013 fight, while he faced constant pressure back in February against Adrian Granados and only escaped with a split decision victory. This is the biggest fight of his boxing career, but one has to worry if he loses that there will be even larger fights to deal with away from the ring.
Despite the discrepancy in recent form, the odds are fairly close. Garcia is a 4/9 favourite, with Broner a live 2/1 underdog.
Elsewhere in Brooklyn, Ireland’s Katie Taylor continues her professional career against the unheralded Jasmine Clarkson, Jermall Charlo and Jorge Heiland bid to become mandatory challenger for Gennady Golovkin, and nearly 300 pound heavyweight Jarrell Miller fights Gerald Washington.
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