Former 3 division world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner (29-1, 22KOs) is less than a month away from his March 7th showdown with the hard punching former world title challenger John John Molina (27-5, 22KOs). The super lightweight clash is scheduled for 12 rounds and will be the co- feature to the Keith Thurman vs Robert Guerrero world title main event. Fight venue will be the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. NBC will air the show.
dominance at lightweight
Broner dominated during his reigns as world champion at 130 and 135. His skills definitely were a major contributor but it was his power that had many fans raving. Some where even comparing him pound to pound unbeaten king Floyd Mayweather Jr. but with power. During his short stay as champion at junior lightweight and lightweight he was 5 and 0 with 5KOs. A telling indicator of his power was that of the 5 opponents only one had ever been stopped prior to fighting Broner and that fighter’s only prior stoppage was in the 12th and final round. So you’re talking about normally durable guys being broken down or beaten into submission by the young upstart Broner .
decreasing power at welterweights
In June 2013 Broner jumped up to Welterweight to challenge WBA Champion Paulie Malignaggi in New York. Broner was favored over the hometown Malignaggi. Many even thought he would get the stoppage against the light punching Paulie. This was not the case at all. Broner never came close to stopping Malignaggi and in fact was almost upset. Broner won a closely contested split decision. Next up was Marcos Maidana. A proven puncher with a chin to match. A true test for Broner but he failed badly. Broner was dropped in rounds 2 and 8 and hurt multiple times throughout the fight. Broner showed a lot of heart to not only make it to the final bell but to fight his way back as well. He would go on to drop a unanimous decision and was dealt his first career loss. The telling sign was that this was two straight fights at welter against two totally different styles and neither was in any danger of being stopped by Broner. A drop down to 140 hasn’t fared much better for Broner in his first two fights after the Maidana loss. In the very next fight he unanimously decisioned Carlos Molina but he had to put in work to earn it. The fight was anything but exciting and he didn’t score any knockdowns. In his last fight vs. Emmanul Taylor he scored a knockdown in the 12 in final round but was given all he could handle in his hometown none the less. Broner won a competitive unanimous decision. Bottom line in his 4 fights combined at welterweight and junior welterweight he hasn’t scored one knockout. Sure sign that he is not packing the same punch at 140 or 147.
fighting a dangerous Molina
In Molina, Broner is fighting someone that needs a win in the worst kind of way. A loss to Broner would hand Molina his third loss in a row. Losses in succession like this can get a fighter in many cases removed from televised fights until they are coming off of at least one win. As many know non televised fights are a big drop off in pay for most fighters. Especially when your use to getting paid tv money purses. The odds released by some sports books have Molina as a huge underdog at +600 to -900 favorite Broner. Aside from Molina’s current two fight losing streak a common opponent may be a contributor to the wide margin odds. Molina was stopped in less than a round against Antonio De Marco in their world title fight where Broner stopped De Marco in round 8 in their fight. Those who know boxing know that means nothing. Molina more than redeemed himself against Lucas Matthysee albeit in a losing effort. The odds dont suggest it but this could be a very dangerous fight for Broner. Molina is not going to stop coming. Its just not in his nature. Matthysee was given all he could hanlde. He had to endure two knock downs himself and score two knockdowns to get Molina out of there in round 11 after the referee waved it off. If the trend continues with Broner’s decreasing power he could be in for a tough fight if not upset.
