Adrien Broner: Will the Mikey Garcia fight be his last stand?
Adrien Broner is a genuinely talented fighter, controversial character and notorious figure in boxing circles. When Broner fights Mikey Garcia in a highly anticipated matchup, he’ll be battling for his relevance at the elite level.
The narrative that has defined the past few years of Adrien Broner’s career always boils down to one thing: that mythical moment, perpetually around the corner, where Broner (33-2, 24 KOs) finally gets it — where, after all the teasing, he once and for all harnesses his immense potential and becomes a pound-for-pound entrant. Few fighters have been given as many free passes and chances as Broner, a boxer dogged by personal and in-ring issues in almost equal measure.
On July 29 (Showtime, 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT), Adrien Broner will face three-division champion Mikey Garcia, who is moving up to 140 pounds for the match. Despite being only two fights into his comeback, Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs) is a significant favorite thanks to his combination of skills and consistency. In terms of demeanor, Garcia is Broner’s antithesis.
If Broner loses to Garcia as many expect, is it time to finally close the door on him and stop pretending that he’ll eventually harness the raw gifts he’s displayed in spurts? Many would likely argue this should have happened years ago, which is intriguingly at odds with promoters and networks still banking on Broner’s perverse appeal.
On June 29, The Queensberry Rules ran a compelling column entitled, “Stop Caring About Adrien Broner.” The sobering reality of “watching potential squandered in real-time” regarding Broner is stated in the opening paragraph, and the piece doesn’t pull a single punch when offering a brutally honest assessment of the Cincinnati native:
"There’s some strange obsession in boxing circles with fostering Broner’s untapped talent but we’re almost a decade into the guy’s career and his biggest wins are over Antonio DeMarco and Paulie Malignaggi. What are we waiting for? The curtain has been pulled back and it’s just a ratty ass little dog who kinda sorta sucks at professional boxing. There’s nothing more useless than unwarranted hubris and Broner’s day-old diaper is overflowing with it. It might be time to face the fact that he’s maybe just not very good."
Adrien Broner has lost twice as a pro, and it just so happens that those setbacks came against the best opponents of his career. First, in 2013, Marcos Maidana dropped Broner in rounds two and eight, and the Argentine also taunted Broner by humping him from behind during an awkward clinch, securing revenge for Broner’s identical taunt early in the fight. Broner was totally and comprehensively humbled (or at least should have been).
Then, in a marquee Premier Boxing Champions match, Broner produced a dud performance against Shawn Porter, allowing “Showtime” to badly out-hustle him. In the final round, a scintillating left hook following a jab feint — a punch few fighters can land — that floored Porter couldn’t erase the foul taste of Broner’s listlessness. Even though he was the smaller fighter, Broner had a clear advantage in talent over Porter; he simply didn’t work hard enough to utilize it.
Now, as Adrien Broner prepares to fight Mikey Garcia, two caveats are in place. First, a focused Broner will be in optimal condition at his more natural 140 pounds. Second, Broner holding an isolated training camp in the mountains shows he’s finally committed to his craft and has matured.
The broad strokes — settling at an ideal weight and his alleged maturation — are repetitive tropes when it comes to Adrien Broner. But once again, the marketing machine behind this fight has cleverly capitalized on new details like Broner’s more monastic camp setting and the true, but ultimately exhausted, narrative that Broner is the kind of significant underdog who can easily surprise if at his best (a massive if).
Broner’s last fight, a split decision against the credible (but not quite elite) Adrian Granados doesn’t inspire much confidence in his ability to topple Mikey Garcia. And yet, a loss against Garcia doesn’t necessarily have to signal the end of Broner’s relevance. A lopsided decision or brutal knockout defeat certainly would, but if Broner drops a competitive verdict or rewrites the expected script by battling with bravery and showing resilience under duress (which he can do), there will be demand to see him again.
The question, though, is whether Broner will be compelling only as a B-side in marquee fights going forward. Beating Garcia obviously restores much of Broner’s credibility, but considering that he’s in the midst of his athletic prime, Broner does find himself with perhaps his final opportunity to actually win the big one — a remarkable reality for someone who has won title belts in four weight classes. If this is indeed Broner’s last stand, it’s an overdue referendum on how networks can market him, because the majority of boxing fans understand who he is and what he can offer.
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Make no mistake, Adrien Broner can beat Mikey Garcia. Perhaps he’s even highly motivated to do so. However, given the way Broner was heralded as the next great young fighter and cash cow, his in-ring fallibility has rendered what he’s trying to salvage against Garcia far different, and diminished, than what anyone circa 2012 could have foreseen.
