It is only two weeks into January, and already the boxing world is jockeying for position around the major attractions in the sport. Mayweather-Khan has been whispered about for months, but never become official. Manny Pacquiao seems to have his choices narrowed down to Bradley and Provodnikov, which pretty much means Bradley. Provodkinov would need to abandon his trainer and gym.. something unlikely to happen.
Marcos Maidana is a hot commodity, and has certainly posted the better resume recently in terms of a Mayweather sweepstakes. The other hot properties in boxing that are on the rise: Golovkin, Stevenson, Kovalev, and Mikey Garcia seem to be continuing the pattern of heavier activity, in lieu of big matches. However, most of these decisions, while frustrating to many boxing fans, can be understood from a business sense. The direction Adrien Broner wants to head, however, does not have an ounce of sense to it. The Problem wants to find a solution to his most recent defeat, with an immediate rematch. The problems with this are numerous:
First, He lost a wide decision. This was not a close fight.. therefore in no way does it warrant a rematch except in the sense that it was an upset. There was also nothing controversial about the fight that would lead anyone to believe an unfair advantage had been had. Secondly, Broner is too small to be a welterweight. He is not developed enough, at least not yet, and he has not done what big brother Floyd did when he moved up in weight and found his power less effective.
Floyd was a KO artist at 130 and even a bit at 135lbs.. when he moved up, he perfected defense, and precision accuracy. If Broner is not capable of this, he must replace it with punch output. Adrien seems to still be expecting his punches to have the same effect they did at 130 and 135, which has certainly not been the case. Thirdly, Garcia still has no dance partner. Now, I am not suggesting Danny Garcia as a suitable opponent immediately, but if he does not find interesting fights soon, he'll be forced to face a useless mandatory, and be looking for a bigger name.
The only option that makes sense for Broner is to face the winner of Peterson-Jean. If victorious, he will be fighting at a more natural (and equally exciting) division. This will get him a 4th sanctioning body trinket in a 4th weight class. If nothing else, at least that will mark a legacy.. even if he has only been a belt holder, and never a champion in any division. This will also set up fights with Matthysse and Garcia. Now that his perfect record is gone, he can take on bigger opposition, without fear of losing marketability. Odds are, Haymon won't want him to match up with another puncher soon, but at the lower weights he was not bothered. It's time for Broner to stop fighting smaller and bigger men... he needs to be where he belongs, and I bet the fans will reward him with more respect.
Chris Strait
www.convictedartist.com
