This Saturday on Showtime, former four-division world champion Adrien Broner (32-2, 24 KO’s) will make his return to the ring against the tough, rugged Adrian Granados (18-4-2, 12 KO’s).
This welterweight fight headlines a card that has some very interesting match-ups between top contenders and even has a world title fight in the co-main event.
Taking place at the Cintas Center in Broner’s hometown of Cincinnati, this card has the potential to be a very exciting card and could help mold the world title picture in the welterweight division. Here on Def Pen, we will break down all three fights on the main card and give a prediction.
Adrien Broner (32-2, 24 KO’s) vs. Adrian Granados (18-4-2, 12 KO’s)
Welterweight Bout
From a talent standpoint, this fight strongly favors the hometown kid, Broner. But if he does not come in prepared to fight, then Granados is very capable in putting him in a world of pain.
Broner has been out of the ring since he knocked out Ashley Theopane in April 2016 and has had a tumultuous time outside of the ring since then. He spent 30 days in jail after showing up late to his own trial and hinted at committing suicide on his social media this past fall.
But now, the 27-year-old Broner appears to be locked in on getting his boxing career back to the top of the sport. He posses great hand speed, power, and accuracy with his punches and is one of the most talented fighters in the sport. Broner’s dedication to the sport is the only thing that has ever held him back and we may not have even seen the best of him yet, which is a scary proposition.
Broner will have a very tough task facing him in Chicago’s own, Granados. While his record does not jump off of the page, it is a very deceiving record in the loss department. “El Tigre” has officially lost four fights but three of those fights were very close to decision losses to undefeated fighters in Felix Diaz, Frankie Gomez, and Brad Solomon. The fourth loss was a close decision in his second pro fight.
Granados could very well be unbeaten if the judging had gone his way and has the style to give Broner a lot of problems. His hard-charging, volume-punching, pressure style is similar to that of Shawn Porter and Marcos Maidana, the two fighters that have defeated Broner. Granados used those exact traits to upset Amir Imam, a highly touted prospect that Granados knocked out in November 2015.
Pressure fighters have overwhelmed Broner in the past and he has stopped throwing punches when a fighter throws high volumes of punches at him. But Broner looked every good in his last fight and appears to be in good physical shape heading into this fight. This will be a good, tough fight but I have to go with the more talented fighter in this match-up. But Granados certainly has the goods to pull an upset if it is his night.
Prediction: Broner by decision
David Avanesyan (22-1-1, 11 KO’s) vs. Lamont Peterson (34-3-1, 17 KO’s)
For Avanesyan’s WBA “regular” welterweight title
In the co-feature bout, we will see a world title fight in boxing’s most talent-rich division.
Avanesyan holds the secondary version of the WBA welterweight title, whose full title is held by Keith Thurman, and has netted a big-name opponent for the second fight in a row.
In his last outing, Avanesyan defeated boxing legend Shane Mosley (49-10-1) by decision. Even though Mosley is 45 years old, that does not mean that Avanesyan is not talented himself. He is a tough, rugged fighter that constantly moves forward and lands good shots.
But that style good play right into the hands of Peterson, the former junior welterweight world champion. “Havoc” is a very slick boxer with good speed and ring sense but has been out of the ring since his controversial decision win over Felix Diaz in October 2015. That layoff leaves a lot of questions about Peterson but if ring rust is not present, he should be able to out-box Avanesyan. His talent is world-class and he can compete with the best fighters in the world when he is on.
The winner of this fight will become a mandatory challenger down the road for the winner of the welterweight title unification fight between Thurman and Danny Garcia. This is an important fight, even if it is flying under the radar. Peterson is the boxer but has shown a willingness to trade punches in the past and this should be a good fight.
Prediction: Peterson by decision
Marcus Browne (18-0, 13 KO’s) vs. Thomas Williams Jr. (20-2, 14 KO’s)
Light Heavyweight Bout
This should be an exciting firefight that could be very brief.
Browne, 26, is a good prospect from Staten Island, NY, and has a good skill set. He can punch and box a little bit but looked shaky in his last fight. In April 2016, he took home a very controversial decision win over Radivoje Kalajdzic, a fight in which he looked to be beaten handily. But if he can bouce back and look like the promising fighter that we saw before that fight, he should pick up his biggest win in this fight.
His opponent, Williams Jr., is coming off of a knockout loss to Adonis Stevenson when he challenged for the WBC light heavyweight title. But “Top Dog” is a very big puncher from the southpaw stance and is all-action. If he connects, this could be a short night.
If Browne can weather the early storm, he can definitely outbox, or even knockout, Williams. But the early storm will be fierce, just ask Edwin Rodriguez. This is a toss-up and should be very exciting.
Prediction: Williams Jr. by KO
