Boxing Challenge: Goodbye to Broner

      The three fights in the boxing challenge over the weekend were not only far from exciting, they weren't very competitive with all three fights lasting the scheduled distance.

Friday on a PPV from Don King ( complete with a dedication to the tenth anniversary of the death of former WBC President Jose Sulaiman) what's left of Adrien Broner's career looks to finally washed away as Blair Cobbs knocked Broner down in round two and dominated him on the way to an easy unanimous decision triumph.

Cobbs isn't noted as a puncher but his right hand in round two sent Broner ass over tea kettles (Knocking a tooth out from Broner) and a harder hitter might have ended the fight then and there.

After that, every round was similar with Cobbs landing whenever he threw and Broner unable to fire back with any offense.

I scored the fight 99-91 for Cobbs, which could have been generous as the ninth round that I scored for Broner was a close round, which was closer to the truth than the official scorecards which gave Cobbs the win by scores of 97-92 and two awful scores of 96-93.

Hopefully, this is the last fight for Broner, who was slow and uninspired, after being dominated by Cobbs, who is more of a top twenty welterweight than a contender, Broner will be a sideshow at best in his future fights.

About the only excitement of the weekend came in Verona, New York, when Gerardo Zapata knocked down and badly hurt WBO minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo in the second round of their championship battle.

Other than the final minute of that round, it was all Collazo, winning every other round on my card (118-109) and most others in retaining his title by unanimous decision by official scores of 119-109 times two and 117-111.

Saturday in New York City, highly touted junior middleweight Xander Zayas earned his biggest win to date with a unanimous decision over a shopworn Patrick Teixeira.

Teixeira was backed up for the entire fight, suffered a cut in round nine, and didn't win a round as Zayas dominated but never seriously threatened to stop the former WBO champion.

Zayas won 100-90 on two cards (Including mine) and 99-91 on the other, which is very hard for me to find a possible round to give Teixeira but while Zayas looked good, he didn't look dynamic and if the twenty-one-year-old is to be the star that Top Rank hopes for, he'll have to do better against overmatched opponents in the future.

Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica: 80 Pts (5)

TRS: 68 Pts (5)
Vince Samano:43 Pts (2)

Adrian Broner: Why boxing needs to let him go and keep him around

   At one time, it would have been fashionable to poke fun at Adrien Broner for several things.

For one, Broner won titles in four divisions, yet the best fighter that he defeated for a title was Antonio DeMarco.

Broner won several decisions that he didn't deserve (Paulie Malignaggi, Adrian Granados, and his most recent win in February 2021 over Jovanie Santiago), didn't always come into a fight in shape, missed weight on several occasions, and usually offered a profane post-fight interview with claims that he won a fight that he clearly lost.

That's not even counting the out-of-the-ring issues and YouTube videos filled with lighting cigars with one hundred dollar bills, with constant problems that made you wince with every new piece of news.

For all of the titles and all the hype from PBC (including from HBO before there was a PBC), Broner was a good boxer, not a great one, and more often than not was more sizzle than steak.

Only one of those title wins was the type of performance (the tenth-round knockout of Antonio DeMarco) that dazzled you, and Broner might have proven more in his defeats to Marcos Maidana and Shawn Porter than in any wins.

Broner showed heart in taking a punishing pounding against Maidana, and well behind on the cards against Porter, Broner hung in there and knocked Porter down in the final round.

Broner's chin and guts cannot be questioned, but his speed and power always were overrated a bit, and his preparation and dedication to the sport were more often than not very much in question.

In the last few years, Broner has been trotted out every year or two to fight a big name (2015 Porter, 2017 Mikey Garcia, and 2019 Manny Pacquiao), and would say all the right things about being in the best shape of his life and dedicated to the sport, and then wouldn't throw enough punches and be handily handed a decision defeat.

And then there was the February 2021 decision win to Jovanie Santiago that most thought he lost, and after a borderline gift, Broner spent the post-fight cursing, talking about his sex life, and talking about everything but why he looked slow and fortunate to win.

Fast forward to the present, and yet another Broner comeback against another disappointing once-thought-to-be future star in Omar Figueroa in a Showtime main event.

Broner-Figueroa looked like one of those fights with two faded names pitted against each other, and hope that the winner looked good enough to be fed to a younger fighter in need of a former champion and major name on their record.

Today, Broner dropped out of the fight, citing "mental health" issues, forcing PBC to elevate former IBF junior welterweight champion Sergey Lipinets from the undercard to face Figueroa, who will now face a better fighter (at this stage) but a lesser name.

Broner has pulled this stunt too many times, and in the ring, he's just not worth the troubles that follow along with him.

PBC, Showtime, whomever, should decide that they have had enough of Broner in the ring and not book him any further because they cannot depend on him to show up or act like a professional when he does appear.

Enough is enough.

And yet, I feel for Adrien Broner.

Mental Health may be a recent addition to sports vernacular and only now is starting to receive the attention that it deserves in the sports world, but it's easy to chuckle at fighters such as Broner and Ryan Garcia that seem to be using the term as an excuse for not being at their best or not reaching their contractual obligations when their past shows several setbacks.

Broner has made many mistakes away from boxing that scream mental health issues, and it's not difficult to see that he needs help and likely money despite making millions in boxing.

Someone in the game could try to help Broner, perhaps starting him as an assistant trainer, or an English commentator on international broadcasts, or something in the boxing media.

Broner needs something to keep him busy and out of trouble, and with his background with PBC and Showtime, there has to be something that someone can try to do to keep him busy, out of the ring, but yet involved enough with what he knows best- on the condition that he receives regular treatment for help with his mental well-being.

Oftentimes, these attempts can backfire or be ignored by the person that someone is trying to help, but PBC or Showtime could at least try and hope that they can keep him out of the ring and well.

And if that doesn't work, maybe it's time for the promotion that has tolerated this behavior and his issues for so long to cut him loose and minimize their losses.

"The Problem" has his problems; it would be good for him and the sport for him to keep those out of the ring from now on.

Boxing Challenge: Pacquiao solves the Problem

 Before their pay per view fight, the story had been almost entirely about the typically boorish behavior of Adrien Broner and only a little about the skills of 40-year-old Manny Pacquiao.

The questions now are these-  just which PBC star will Manny Pacquiao face next and when will PBC realize that Adrien Broner is simply not an elite level fighter and when will their promotional company stop presenting him as such?
Manny Pacquiao threw more punches, landed the harder punches and was never threatened in a unanimous decision victory that some scored as a shutout.
I scored it 118-110 and it was surprisingly closer on the official cards, but the easy win opens up Pacquiao several avenues to choose from for his next fight.
There's always the rumors of a Floyd Mayweather return, but in hoping that never happens, Manny still has options.
Fights vs WBA champion Keith Thurman (Pacquiao holds a WBA minor title) and WBC champion Shawn Porter are possible as could be one vs Danny Garcia, who always seems to be in the thick of these events, much like Adrien Broner (more on him in a bit) and could be of interest.
IBF champion Errol Spence would be a huge challenge, should he defeat Mikey Garcia, but I'm doubtful we ever would see a Spence-Pacquiao fight as many of the reasons that Pacquiao left Top Rank was an unwillingness to face Terence Crawford so Spence wouldn't be as equal of a reward as the risk.
Mikey Garcia is a possibility, especially if he upsets Spence as the two are close to the same natural size, might make the exciting fight of the bunch and would be an attractive PPV event.

Manny Pacquiao showed enough in victory to remain viable, but Adrien Broner did not.
Broner, who despite a watered down "four division champion" resume' line has never decisively beaten a fighter better than Antonio DeMarco, has some 'arguable' decision wins over the likes of Daniel Ponce DeLeon, Paulie Malignaggi, Adrian Granados and a really questionable draw vs Jessie Vargas and losses against every top opponent he has faced (Marcos Maidana, Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter and now Manny Pacquiao) continues to receive sizable paychecks and big fights despite mouth that delivers more in the press conference that he ever brings to the ring.
Broner's awful treatment of Al Bernstein and racist statements towards the Pacquiao camp were bad enough, but his effort, which showed a sturdy chin and nothing else, was lacking until his delusional post-fight conduct where he hollered about whipping Pacquiao for "The Hood", screaming about being robbed and talking about beating up 60-year-old Showtime interviewer Jim Gray, seemed more aimed at being a character rather than a fighter.
If we see Broner anywhere near a big fight again, PBC needs to take a deeper look at their managemental decisions and perhaps "The Zabbies" may eventually be renamed "The Bronies"!

In the co-feature, former Olympian Marcus Browne dominated and busted open Badou Jack in winning a unanimous decision (116-110 on my card) to win a minor title.
Browne boxed very well off the jab and clearly controlled the fight, but his best shots were a right hand that seemed to hurt Jack in the fifth and a headbutt that left a vertical cut down Jack's forehead which gushed as much blood as you'll see in a boxing ring.
Browne has the potential with his size and skills to be a tough fight with any of the best at 175, but
his chin has been shown to be questionable and I still think he received a gift split decision against Radivoje Kalajdzic, in a decision that was as bad you'll see.
Browne now holds a WBA minor title and will eventually face their true champion Dmitry Bivol down the road.

In the other challenge bout, Nordine Oubaali won the vacant WBC bantamweight title with a competitive, yet clear unanimous decision over Rau'Shee Warren in a pairing of southpaws.
The fight was a rematch of their 2012 Olympic fight, which was also won by Oubaali, who marched forward with a strong right hook and is in a position to be the only bantamweight title that will not be held by the winner of the World Boxing Super Series in the division.

The Jhack Tepora-Hugo Ruiz fight was canceled when Tepora was far overweight at the weigh-in.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica earned four points to my wo on the evening.
Ramon added two points each from the Pacquiao and Oubaali wins, while both of my points were due to the Pacquiao win.
I lead the challenge 9-8.

Boxing Challenge- Broner and Vargas draw, Frampton tops Donaire

A big boxing weekend saw several top fighters in action and a few that were once considered future superstars that disappointed returned to the ring as well..

Showtime televised a three-bout card that had the never boring on the mic, yet often less than scintillating in the ring Adrien Broner in a welterweight fight against Jessie Vargas.
Broner had won titles in three divisions and Vargas in two entering the fight,(which says a lot on there being too many organizations and they have way too many titles)  so on the surface, this looked like a bigger fight than it actually was, but the two gave a better fight than expected and saved an evening with two fights that were basically squashes.
Vargas dominated the first half of the fight with great bodywork and overwhelming Broner with the sheer number of punches but slowed in the middle of the bout and Broner took over in the second half of the fight before I thought Vargas won the last two rounds.
I had Vargas a 115-113 winner but had no issues with the majority draw from the judges.
One judge had Broner ahead 115-113 with other two judges scoring the fight even.

The other two fights were blowouts against overmatched opponents.
The second fight saw Jermall Charlo win an "interim" title in a division with an active champion by blowing away Hugo Centeno with a crushing left hook in the second round.
Charlo looked great and despite winning just two fights at the weight against fighters that had never beaten a top 15 fighter, is now a "champion: and an eventual mandatory challenger to Gennady Golovkin.
Both Charlo brothers are talented and revel in playing the "heel" role, but I still think they are hanging their hat on spectacular wins against untested prospects making their first leap against top fighters (Jermall over Julian Williams, Jermell over Erickson Lubin) and want to see what happens when they fight top five level fighters and what happens when they get hit on the chin.
PBC is weak at 160 pounds so we may have to wait until Charlo actually fights Golovkin to finally see him tested.

Gervonta Davis may have won the WBA title (or may not ) in his steamrolling Jesus Cuellar in three rounds.
Davis was clearly the bigger and stronger man and Cuellar, who hadn't fought in well over a year, simply wasn't able to hold Davis off.
The more interesting part for me was the WBA making Davis their "Super" champion over Alberto Machado, who had beaten their former "super" champion Jezreel Corrales, which to my way of thinking would make Machado their top champ.
Instead, it appears to be Davis, who may not have to fight Machado, who is promoted by Golden Boy that is looking for unification against the Tevin Farmer-Billy Dib winner for the vacant IBF title at the weight.
In the end, Machado's belt appears to be demoted for nothing more than someone felt like it.
Davis is the more talented fighter and would be my pick if Davis was to fight Machado, but that still doesn't make this decision the correct one from the most corrupt organization in boxing.
I now have a headache.

In Belfast, Northern Ireland, Carl Frampton won a unanimous decision over Nonito Donaire in a less than exciting bout that saw Frampton perhaps a bit too respectful towards the slowing Donaire.
This was Frampton's second fight since losing to Leo Santa Cruz and Frampton seems like he may have lost a step himself after two physical fights with Santa Cruz.
We will see if that is the case as Frampton is now the mandatory contender for WBO champion Oscar Valdez.
I had the same score as all three judges 117-111 for Frampton

The co-feature from Belfast saw Zolani Tete keep his WBO bantamweight title over Omar Narvaez by unanimous decision, winning all 12 rounds on every card.
I wouldn't know because this fight was so awful that I fell asleep.

Amir Khan returned to the ring and blew out Canada's Phil LoGreco in under a minute, scoring two knockdowns before the fight was stopped.
The fight was the first on the new and heralded ESPN+ app and I'm sure the 37 seconds was worth the five dollars for the month.
Kell Brook entered the ring post-fight to challenge Khan for a long overdue fight that might happen before the end of the year.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica and I each scored nine points on the weekend.
We both added two points each for the wins by Jermall Charlo, Gervonta Davis and Carl Frampton.
Ramon picked up two for Zolani Tete's win and one for Amir Khan's victory,
I added two for Khan and one for Tete.
The challenge is currently at 70-57

Garcia decisions Broner-Boxing Challenge

Ramon Malpica and I each scored seven points in the boxing challenge to move the total,but the margin stayed the same as the score is now 94-87...

The biggest fight of the weekend saw WBC lightweight champion Mikey Garcia deliver arguably the best performance of his career in his move to junior welterweight with a dominant unanimous decision over Adrien Broner on Showtime.
Garcia is about as technically sound as they come and he used combinations along with a surprising body attack to leave the inactive Broner to do little but shake his head in an attempt to shake Garcia's poise.
I scored Garcia a 118-110 winner and you could make an argument for 120-108.

Garcia has lots of interesting fights that could be made,if promotional issues would not enter into the picture-as they always do.
Garcia could drop back to 135 where he still holds the WBC title and fight WBA champ Jorge Linares,but with Linares with Golden Boy,that could be difficult to make.
If Garcia chooses to stay at 140,a Terence Crawford (or Julius Indongo should he upset Crawford in August) fight would be one of the best in boxing,but Crawford is a Top Rank fighter and since Garcia's divorce from the Bob Arum company,I doubt they will do many favors for Garcia.
Garcia could get PBC champions at 147 in Keith Thurman or Errol Spence in fights that again would be interesting,but that involves going up another seven pounds for a fighter that won his first title at 126.
Still,it'll be interesting to see what avenue Garcia takes next...

As for Adrien Broner,I think we've seen what we'll see from him.
He's good,but not great,neither a true boxer or big banger and more of a top ten fighter rather than a true elite fighter.
Despite the branding and building of the name,Adrien Broner simply isn't an elite fighter.
Oh.every once in a while in the future,the name he built will be used to make some money or build another fighters resume' and maybe he'll even win another title,if matched properly,but he's been exposed for good now and you'll never see him as a true A side in a big fight again.
Ramon and I each received two points for the Garcia win.

In the other Showtime bout,Jermall Charlo debuted as a middleweight with a fourth round knockout over Jorge Sebastian Heiland to become the WBC's mandatory contender for the winner of Gennady Golovkin-Canelo Alvarez.
Heiland clearly was injured entering the bout with a leg issue and just couldn't keep his balance in going down in the second and fourth.
Charlo did what needed to be done,but for this to be his first fight at the weight against an overmatched journeyman with just one name victory (an over the hill Matthew Macklin) and qualify him for a title fight was ridiculous.
Charlo's post-fight interview was just as ludicrous as Charlo called himself the Hitman,the "real Tommy Hearns" and later compared himself to Sugar Ray Leonard.
I wasn't aware that wins over Julian Williams (Charlo's best win to date) and Jorge Sebastian Heiland brought one such prestige,but apparently they do....
I added two points for the Charlo KO with Ramon adding one for the win.

Showtime also streamed a heavyweight fight for free on their YouTube channel,showing while HBO is stuck in 2007,Showtime is being innovative and using technology to grow the sport-now if they could only get some of their better guys to fight more often and versus better competition.
Talented,but overweight Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller returned after a long layoff to stop Gerald Washington at the end of round eight.
You might remember Washington's last bout in a undeserved title fight against WBC champion Deontay Wilder where he fought evenly for four rounds vs Wilder before being stopped in the fifth round,this time Washington was generally bullied by the bulkier Miller in being badly hurt in the sixth,seventh and eighth rounds before not being allowed to start the ninth round.
I thought Miller won every round before the end of the bout.
Miller is going to have to try to be in better shape against tougher opponents,but I'm intrigued by Miller's potential,if he could do that.
Ramon and I each added two points for the Miller knockout.

In an untelevised bout,former bantamweight champion Rau'shee Warren won a unanimous decision over former junior bantamweight champ McJoe Arroyo to become the IBF's mandatory contender for their champion Jerwin Ancajas.
Ramon received two points for the Warren win and unanimous nod,while I added one for the Warren win.

Boxing Challenge

The Boxing Challenge kicks off August with four bouts on the Showtime platform-two on the network and one for free on the network's Youtube and Facebook pages.
The fourth may be televised if time permits...

The big bout of the weekend features WBC lightweight champion Mikey Garcia moving up to junior welterweight against multiple division former champion Adrien Broner.
Garcia is a big hitter,but started his career at featherweight and you wonder where he will meet the weight class where his power levels out.
Broner has won titles in three weight classes,but has never beaten a top five in his division fighter,let alone a fighter of the talent of Mikey Garcia.
Broner has shown a pretty solid chin among all of his fights,so it'll be interesting to see if Garcia can hurt Broner.
A loss wouldn't hurt Garcia,but a loss might send Broner to special attraction status...

Showtime also will have the return of former IBF junior middleweight champ Jermall Charlo,who looked so spectacular in winning as an underdog against Julian Williams in the final defense of his title before he vacated and moved to middleweight.
Charlo should have been right back into the ring to take advantage of the huge win,but eight months have went by since the win and the momentum has been lost.
As for Jorge Sebastian Heiland,Charlo's opponent in this WBC middleweight eliminator,he is 1-1 against anyone I've heard of and his only big win was a knockout three years ago over a faded Matthew Macklin.

Showtime might not have the cache' or the wallet of HBO,but they are light years ahead of HBO on streaming,where they stream their fight live to subscribers (HBO does not) and on Saturday,the network will be showing one challenge fight (maybe another) and a ladies bout for free on YouTube and Facebook

Talented,but untested heavyweight Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller takes on his first real test against former title challenger Gerald Washington.
Washington was stopped by Deontay Wilder in five in his last bout for the WBC heavyweight title in a shot that was undeserved,but fought on equal terms with Wilder for four rounds before the stoppage.
Miller has some talent,but doesn't always come to fights in shape,so it'll be interesting to see if Miller is in shape and how he matches up with the 6'6 Washington.

In the "television time remaining" category,former WBA bantamweight champion Rau'shee Warren drops down to junior bantamweight in an IBF eliminator against another former champion-IBF 122 pound champ McJoe Arroyo.
The winner will fight IBF champ Jerwin Ancajas,who dethroned Arroyo.
Warren lost his title in his last bout in a split decision to Zhanat Zhakiyanov in a fight that I scored for Zhakiyanov by one point..

I lead the challenge over Ramon Malpica 87-80

Junior Welterweights.12 rds
Mikey Garcia vs Adrien Broner
Both:Garcia unanimous decision

Middleweights.12 rds
Jermell Charlo vs Jorge Sebastian Heiland
R.L:Charlo unanimous decision
TRS:Charlo KO 7

Heavyweights. 10 rds
Jarrell Miller vs Gerald Washington
R.L:Miller KO 5
TRS:Miller KO 7

Junior Bantamweights, 12 rds
Rau'shee Warren vs McJoe Arroyo
R.L:Warren unanimous decision
TRS:Warren majority decision

Broner squeaks by Granados-Boxing Challenge

The Boxing Challenge continued on a free Showtime weekend with three interesting bouts.
I scored five points to Ramon Malpica's four on the night to take a small lead of 11-10 in the challenge...

In the main event,Adrien Broner squeaked out a narrow split decision over hard luck Adrian Granados in a ten round welterweight bout.
I scored Granados a 96-94 winner,but the fight was close enough that I would not argue with a card of the same score for Broner.
Here is the biggest problem that Adrien Broner faces-at 147,he just isn't strong enough to beat the best fighters in the division,which Granados is far from that level,but at 140 pounds where he would likely be the favorite against anyone except Terence Crawford,Broner simply cannot be relied on make the weight and I'd be very uneasy attempting to promote any fight with Broner at that weight.
Ramon and I earned one point for the Broner win.

In the co-feature,Lamont Peterson defeated David Avenesyan by a unanimous decision in another decent scrap.
Peterson won a minor belt with the win,but more importantly for him earned him the mandatory spot for the winner of the WBA-WBC welterweight unification fight in two weeks between Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia.
I scored Peterson a 116-112 winner and looked solid,but not spectacular in earning the win over Avenesyan,who only had the aging Shane Mosley as an opponent of any note entering the fight.
Ramon and I would add two points for the Peterson victory.

Former Olympian Marcus Browne notched his best win as a pro as the light heavyweight knocked out Thomas Williams in the sixth round.
Williams,who was knocked out by Adonis Stevenson in a championship try in his previous fight,was dropped in the second and fourth before the knockout in round six.
After the fight,Williams was taken to the hospital with a broken jaw,while Browne announced his intentions to challenge WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson,which should be-
A) Easy to make since both are with Al Haymon,B) A fun fight to watch since both are big punchers with suspect chins and C) Stevenson only fights guys smaller than him,fighters with questionable chins and often times both.
A Stevenson-Browne winner wouldn't be any better than the third best (at most) fighter in the division,but like Stevenson's fight with Thomas Williams,it would be fun to watch....
I earned two points for the Browne win and knockout,with Ramon adding one for the win..

More on these fights and other boxing topics tomorrow on Fightheads.
Join us,won't you?

Porter ends the Broner mystique,Ward chops up Smith-Boxing Challenge

On a night with three significant fights from three different promoters on three different networks AT THE SAME TIME-one things was for sure,the myth that Al Haymon and his PBC had built in anticipation of his venture was punctured for good in Las Vegas as Shawn Porter took a clear cut unanimous decision over Adrien Broner in Las Vegas.

Before I begin,I'm not including the vacant IBF Middleweight title bout between David Lemieux and Hassan N'Dam from Montreal as I have not seen it and (for now) I've been able to dodge the result until later when I can hopefully watch it.

Shawn Porter's unanimous decision over Adrien Broner not only saw a incredibly disliked fighter give the crowd what they hoped for,but it hit the PBC where it hurt-business.
The infant company had hoped to use Broner as their "heel" that people watched to see lose (See Floyd Mayweather for a more talented example) and would be able to build viewership for his bouts.
They may have created the heel side,but the fighter may not have been as talented as thought by many.
Shawn Porter is a good fighter and a former champion,but if Adrien Broner was truly as good as thought-this was a fight that should have been impressively won.
Instead in a somewhat entertaining,if sloppy affair,Broner was exposed as a fighter that truly is a "tweener"-not enough of a boxer to control a bout against the top of a division and not enough of a puncher to keep said fighters off of him.
Broner did score the only knockdown of the fight with a hook to start the final round,but Porter wasn't severely hurt and the fight went to the scorecards,where I wondered aloud (and on Twitter) about how the scores were going to be found for Broner.
To my surprise,two of the cards were close to mine (115-111 Porter) with another that seemed to be way too wide for Porter.
Three quick thoughts on this fight.

1) Shawn Porter has redeemed himself for his loss of his IBF title to Kell Brook with an energetic and unexpected win.
Porter will likely get himself more fights and he has two that I'd like to see happen.
I wouldn't be against a Brook rematch,the first was a competitive fight and a second fight might be worth going after,but the other would be for Keith Thurman and his WBA title.
I've been critical of "one time" for fighting B level fighters and not getting them out with "one shot".
Shawn Porter would be the best fighter that Keith Thurman has ever fought and would go a long way to pulling a 147 pounder to the top on the PBC side....

2) How good does England's IBF champ Kell Brook look now after Porter's win?
Brook has stopped both fighters in his two defenses and none of the PBC fighters appear interested in fighting him including Amir Khan (a massive money fight in the UK) anytime soon.
Brook has work to do,but you certainly have to put him in the mix for the best post-Mayweather welterweight battle.

3) Where does Adrien Broner stand now?
Broner isn't strong enough to beat the best 147 pounders,yet is going to have a rough time staying at 140 pounds to make the weight.
Even at 140,Broner's options are limited with WBC champ Danny Garcia (PBC) moving up to welterweight and the vacant title filled with the winner of Lucas Matthysse-Victor Postol (neither PBC) which makes the WBC title unlikely.
Garcia hasn't officially given up the WBA title,but if he does,their "regular" (don't get me started on this) champ Jessie Vargas will likely to be promoted to full status and Vargas is with Top Rank.
WBO champ Terrence Crawford is with Top Rank,so he's out and the IBF title is vacant,but Broner might not be ranked high enough at 140 for them.
Broner is at a crossroads in his career and PBC might be at a loss for what to do with him.
Wins over John Molina types such as after his loss to Marcos Maidana seem to be a waste of time,yet another big fight loss might ruin him for good.
Difficult times for the PBC and the fighter that they could have been counting on to be their flagship....

Meanwhile out in Oakland,Andre Ward chopped his opponent Paul Smith up as Smith's corner tossed in the towel in  round nine.
The perpetually dull Ward had added inactive to his name over the last four years and selected Smith as the foe to chip the rust off against,but was such a underdog that HBO,who invested time with Ward as a color commentator that lacked color,refused to show the bout and Showtime turned Ward down when he approached them with HBO's permission.
That forced Roc Nation to time buy on BET for the bout to have television at all.
Roc Nation wastes time on air with rappers,hip hop artists and anything else to take away from the fact that they have two fighters in their stable to pay attention to-When one of those is Andre Ward,you have problems.
Ward won every round,but proved little and I'm not sure what Ward has in his future.
Ward talks a lot about fighting top guys,but the facts show that over the last four years,he has three wins-over Jello-jawed Chad Dawson,Edwin Rodriguez and now Paul Smith.
Not exactly Bob Foster,Archie Moore and Michael Spinks there,but with an unwillingness to leave Oakland,which is the only place that he draws and exorbitant pay demands for a fighter with limited drawing power,Ward's future is uncertain.
Ward talks about Gennady Golovkin,but he'll likely price himself out of that fight,doesn't want to go to England for a rematch with Carl Froch,which would be a high demand ticket there but nowhere else and doesn't appear thrilled with a leap to 175 for Sergey Kovalev.
Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest,if we see more fights like last night in Ward's future,

R.L.Malpica and I each earned one point for Ward's win and both missed on Shawn Porter victory,so the boxing challenge stands at 74-73.
Back later as soon as I can watch Lemieux vs N'Dam....

Premiere Boxing Champions

The highly touted Premier Boxing Champions series finally began on NBC with two bouts and another on NBCSN last night and it was a mixed bag as any project is when it starts from scratch.
Usually,I'll talk about the bouts and the Boxing Challenge (R.L.Malpica gained one point on the night to lead 19-17 on the season),but I want to bring out the bullet points and I'll add a few words on the day's upset that WASN'T part of the PBC at the end of the piece....

Things that I liked about the broadcast.

1) Liked the guys being in suit and tie in the buildup spots and during the bumper scenes.
Added a bit of professionalism in our sport that often lacks it...

2) Al Michaels was smooth enough as a host and even though some on the internet were harsh on Marv Albert and Ray Leonard at the mic,I thought they were Ok,albeit rusty.
I think they should be better in April...

3) Many think the the lack of entourage and shortened ring walks took away the fighters personalities.
Personally.I didn't mind that,but what you did see was the subtle touch of Al Haymon (like Vince McMahon) building the PBC brand more than the individual fighters.
I liked it,but many didn't.

4) I thought the graphics were clear,easy to read and identified who was who quickly and with ease.
Sounds like a no brainer,but too often in sports-that is often not the case.

5) Keith Thurman's win over Robert Guerrero was exciting enough,but it still was a one-sided fight.
That bout saved the night,but they will need more competitive fights as the series moves on...

6) I hope the video circle or whatever they named it will be traveling from arena to arena.
It adds an aspect that is often missing from the product and was a nice touch,

Things that I didn't

1) Hated the ring announcer.
Added no drama,little excitement and generally left me flat.
I missed Michael Buffer or Jimmy Lennon Jr and perhaps they are locked up exclusively for others,but someone other than the person that they are using has to be brought in....

2) Kenny Rice is not great on interviews,but even worse on blow by blow (he did the Abner Mares fight on NBCSN),I could do without him and I thought B.J,Flores and Laila Ali were just OK as the corner reporters.
I'll look at the corner reporters as a work in progress,but I think that needs a little bit of refining the role.
Too bad that the knowledgeable Jessica Rosales from Fox Sports One wasn't available for this role and I wish someone would have talked to Steve Farhood about his unofficial scorecard instead just flashing it.

3) Adrien Broner has always been more style than substance and he confirmed that with another tedious victory ,this one over John Molina,who has now lost three fights in a row.
I thought this would be a dull one from the day it was signed and I hoped Broner would turn it up a bit late considering the event and try to be more exciting.
Instead,he was content to bore and get a W over a limited fighter that was there for the picking.
Time for Al Haymon to face it-Broner is Floyd Mayweather lite-Little power,lots of defense,overly defensive and image comes first.
Considering all that and that the real reason fans watch Mayweather is to see him get beat (watch his ratings/PPV buys fall when that happens) with the fact that Broner already has a loss and you truly have a limited draw and a somnolent fighter.

4) Good thing for the evening that Abner Mares and his win over Arturo Reyes was moved to NBCSN because it was another less than thrilling bout.
I thought Mares won a close decision,but no way by the scores on the judges cards.
If I am Al Haymon,I get Mares in the ring for Leo Santa Cruz ASAP because when he fights a top 20 fighter-he's losing and the name might as well go on the resume' of Santa Cruz while it still means something.
Jhonny Gonzalez seems to have ruined a promising career with his one round demolition of Mares...

5) The Keith Thurman-Robert Guerrero bout saved the night for the PBC,but lets keep some perspective.
It wasn't a fight of the year candidate,it was a one-sided bout (I had it 10-2 for Thurman in rounds,118-109 on points) that showed some nice exchanges and lots of heart by Guerrero.
For all the Keith Thurman "One Time" hype,he has yet to stop a top 20 fighter with one shot.
Thurman punches so much better when throwing in combinations,I think he'd be successful changing his style slightly.

6) I heard only one name from anyone about a non-PBC fighter (Lucas Matthysse) and that was to praise the punching power of John Molina.
Add that to the relentless pushing of Peter Quillin for the next card when the champion,Andy Lee,just has a quick half second picture flashed because he is a non-PBC fighter and you have a McMahonesque creation in the making.
I say that because Vince McMahon would never mention anyone that didn't wrestle for his group and acted like they didn't exist.
It appears that will be the PBC way as well....

It wouldn't fair to not mention the upset of the day where the touted Chinese Olympian Zou Shiming dropped a unanimous decision to  the IBF Flyweight champion Amnat Ruenroeng.
Ruenroeng survived a knockdown that wasn't really one and a huge crowd in China to post a clear decision (115-112 on my card).
I was all prepared for a bad decision considering the home crowd,money that Shiming brings in from China and time that his promoter Top Rank has put into him,but the judges got it right with their cards.
I wonder if HBO would consider bringing Ruenroeng back for a mini-flyweight tourney with WBC champ and very talented Roman Gonzalez and WBA champion Juan Francisco Estrada?
A unified champion with a few wins by Shiming would give plenty attention to the flyweights and offer what I think would be a series of great fights......