Photos: Sumio Yamada

fightnews.com

Adrien Broner and Adrian Granados battled in a close, back-and-forth main event Saturday on SHOWTIME, with the four-division world champion Broner eking out a split decision victory from Cintas Center at Xavier University in his hometown of Cincinnati.

The fight, which was scored 97-93 Broner, 97-93 Granados and 96-94 Broner, was a tale of accuracy vs. activity. Granados (18-5-2, 11 KOs), a native of Chicago, was the busier fighter, throwing 683 total punches compared to 403 for Broner (33-2, 24 KOs). But “The Problem” connected at a 41 percent rate, compared to just 21 percent for his opponent.

The fight was fought largely on the inside, which Broner said was because he hurt his left hand in the first round and couldn’t work off his jab. Regardless of the reason, Granados was able to make the fight into the rough affair he had predicted.

“I knew that Adrian Granados was going to come tough,” Broner said. “At the end of the day, I was beating him up. This was an easy one for me. I feel good.

“Adrian Granados is a world-class fighter, a lot of guys duck him but I wanted to fight him because that’s what I’m about. Inside this ring it’s business. Granados is a great friend of mine. It’s nothing personal.

“I’m taking my career more seriously and being more positive. I want to apologize to everyone who looks up to me and has seen the foolish things I’ve done. I’m ready to be a better role model, a better father figure and a better star for everyone.”

Granados clearly disagreed with the decision and voiced his displeasure afterward.

“I knew it wasn’t a pretty fight but I’m thankful to my team,” Granados said. “You already know, there were all types of games that they played with me. We had to change the weights. We had to change the scale. They are just playing all kind of games. I just want to be treated fairly.

“I understand, I don’t have a perfect record, but I can beat any of these guys. You have seen the scorecards. Split decision. Come on. Give me another one. Let’s do it again. I can’t wait to watch this fight, because I know I won.

“Come to my house. He fought smart and did his thing. If he thinks he did it this time, let’s do it again. Let’s do it in my house. Come to Chicago.”

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