Adrien Broner says “140 is mine;” Mikey Garcia coming nearer

Boxingnews24.com

By Allan Fox: Adrien “The Problem” Broner (33-2, 24 KOs) put the boxing world on notice on Monday in letting his fans know that he’s moving back down to light welterweight to fight at 140 in what appears to prelude to a fight against Mikey Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs). The Broner-Garcia fight still isn’t a done deal, according to Showtime Boxing boss Stephen Espinoza.

There still is a long ways to go before the fight is made. The good news is that Broner and Mikey are interested in facing each other. That’s half the battle. If the fight can be made between Broner and Mikey Garcia for this summer, it would be nice match-up for both of them. If Mikey ends up fighting in the defense of his WBC lightweight title, he’ll attract for less interest from the boxing public.

The lightweight division doesn’t get a lot of attention from the fans. The 140 pound division is also one that doesn’t usually create much interest from boxing fans as well. WBA/WBO light welterweight champion Terence Crawford has some fans, but he’s not a PPV guy and likely never will until he moves up to welterweight and starts beating the better fighters in an exciting manner.

Broner needs to be at least 140 for him to be able to face lightweight Mikey Garcia at either the full weight for the light welterweight division or at a catch-weight between 135 and 140. One thing that is going against Broner making a catch-weight is the fact that he hasn’t been able to make 140 since 2015 when he fought Khabib Allakhverdiev. Broner’s last two fights have been at welterweight against Adrian Granados and Ashley Theophane. The fights were supposed to be at 140, but Broner was too heavy to make weight for the 140 pound division.

140 is mine,” said Broner on his social media site.

This would be a big win for Mikey Garcia to take Broner’s scalp at 140. It would open the doors for much bigger fights against other big names.

Broner is talking tough now that WBC/WBO light welterweight champion Terence Crawford is making news about him moving up to welterweight soon. With Crawford out of the way, Broner would have a good chance of being the best fighter in the 140lb division if he could make the weight on a consistent basic, which I don’t think he could. If Mikey blasts Broner out like some boxing fans think he will, then Mikey needs to stay put at light welterweight and not move back down to lightweight. There’s more money fights for Mikey at 140 than at 135. Mikey can fight the top guys at light welterweight and welterweight if he moves up to 140.

It’s easier said than done for Broner to move down to 140 and actually make the weight. In Broner’s recent video on Youtube, he looks overweight with a lot of weight that he still needs to drop before he can fight again. If Mikey is going to fight Broner, he might want to make sure there’s an expensive weight penalty as part of the contract for the fight. If Broner fails to make weight, he could be off by a considerable amount. It’s going to be tough for Mikey anyway to fight Broner, because he’s likely rehydrate into the 160s or even 170s.

Broner is no longer a light welterweight in terms of his weight. He’s filled out and he now belongs at welterweight, but he obviously lacks the power, speed and talent to compete in that division. That’s the bind that Broner is in. His body can longer make 140, and he doesn’t have the talent to compete at 147. Broner should probably do what Saul Canelo Alvarez has been doing in fighting in his own catch-weight division. If Broner can fight at 143 and pull welterweights down to weaken them, and lightweights light Mikey Garcia up to his catch-weight, he could extend his career and find success.

Broner has not looked good in the last 4 years of his career. Despite only losing twice in his last nine fights, Broner has only performed well in just one of those fights in his 2015 match against John Molina Jr. Broner was impressive in that fight, but he was met with little in the way of resistance. Molina fought like he wasn’t mentally there that night and wasn’t going to let his hands go.

Broner could wind up getting schooled and beaten up by Mikey Garcia in the same way he was in his 12 round unanimous decision loss to Marcos Maidana in September 2013. Broner was knocked down two times by Maidana in rounds 2 and 8. I don’t think for a second that Broner is going to be able to make the 140 pound limit.

I don’t see that weight as a realistic one for him to even try and make. If the Broner-Garcia fight hinges on him having to make the 140lb limit, then they might as well not make the fight at all, because Broner will likely fail to make weight. Mikey should have his management put a huge $1 million per pound weight penalty as part of the contract for the Broner fight just in case “The Problem” comes in over the limit.

Broner’s last fight against Adrian Granados was supposed to have taken place at 140, but he couldn’t make the weight. Broner then had the weight moved up to 147. Granados, who’s not a big name, readily agreed to have the weight moved up. Granados obviously wanted the fight with Broner. Granados found out the hard way how difficult it is to beat Broner by a decision, as the judges gave Broner a controversial 10 round split decision win last February.

Broner has the power and the frame to beat Mikey, but not the hands sped or defense. If Mikey is able to hit and move, he could win this fight. It’s still not going to be easy for Garcia, because Broner is big guy. Mikey won’t be fighting a light welterweight. He’s be fighting a full welterweight in Broner. That’s going to be tough for Mikey because it means he’s pretty much going to be fighting someone 2 divisions above him. There are better welterweights than Broner, but he’s definitely a contender in the 147 pound division.

Broner lost to welterweight Shawn Porter by a 12 round unanimous decision in 2015. Broner struggled with the pressure, high work rate ad inside game of Porter. Broner did knock Porte down in the 12th round. It was a good way for Broner to end the fight, but he still lost the match by a one-sided 12 round decision.

Broner’s only had 2 tough opponents during his 9-year pro career and he lost both of those fights to Maidana and Porter. If Broner loses to Mikey Garcia as well, then he’d be 0-3 in big