By Norm Frauenheim-
They are dangerous men moving in opposite directions. It was inevitable perhaps that their paths would cross in a fight with no title at stake, yet everything else at risk.
“This was a very easy fight to make,’’ Showtime executive vice-president Stephen Espinoza said Thursday in announcing Mikey Garcia-versus-Adrien Broner on July 29 at a venue still undetermined.
It was easy for all kinds of reasons. In a bid to enhance his pound-for-pound credentials, Garcia was looking to unify his lightweight title, maybe against Jorge Linares or Terry Flanagan. But they had other ideas. There were no options. But there was Broner.
“I haven’t fought anybody else who has been champion in four divisions,” Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs) said during a conference call after the junior-welterweight bout was announced. “That’s a big accomplishment in itself there. That’s what I mean. There is no one else available who has that resume.’’
Broner was — is – at a point of no return in a quest to regain relevance. He has won titles at super featherweight, lightweight, super lightweight and welterweight, but his recent record includes criminal charges and jail time.
“I’ve gotten older and I’m getting more wise,” Broner said. “I’m more mature. This next half of my career, I’m just focusing more on doing everything the correct way. The first half, I tried to do everything my way. It worked, but I could have been better.
“So, I want to try to do everything correctly.”
That Broner will attempt to do that in the ring instead of the Department of Corrections is an acknowledgement that his career – his life — is at a crossroads.
Against Garcia, however, he has taken on a steep challenge. Broner’s identity as the self-proclaimed “Problem’’ began to come apart in the wake of a crushing loss to Marcos Maidana in 2013. Maidana’s relentless aggression and power fractured the noisy confidence in a fighter who liked to say that his initials, AB, meant About Billions. About Bail, too.
The bragging and insults are gone. At least, they were Thursday. A quiet Broner was quick to praise Garcia, whose star has been ascending ever since his scary knockout of Dejan Zlaticanin on Jan. 28 in Las Vegas.
“Everybody is a puncher,’’ Broner said. “It all hurts. I don’t want to be hit, and I don’t care if it’s Paulie Malignaggi or Marcos Maidana.’’
At his best, Broner figures to be a lot harder to hit than a Zlaticanin ever was. What’s more, Broner is bigger. He fought as a welterweight. Broner’s size and athleticism promise to be a challenge for Garcia, who will be fighting at 140 for the first time. Yet, there are questions about whether Broner can in fact make the weight.
Broner lost his junior-welterweight belt on the scale before facing Ashley Theophane 14 months ago. He failed to make weight and went on to win by TKO.
In his last fight, Broner a split-decision winner at welterweight against Adrian Granados on Feb. 18. The weight was increased to 147 pounds a couple of weeks before opening bell because Broner was having trouble cutting weight.
Espinoza said Thursday that the deal included penalties for not making weight. But he would not divulge details. Don’t worry, said Broner, who promised to make the contracted weight.
“This fight gives me a reason to make 140 pounds,’’ he said. “I’ll make the weight no problem, just like when I fought for the title. I’ll make the weight easy.”
Making weight, however, might be his only victory, said Garcia, whose chances at facing Vasyl Lomachenko in an eventual pound-for-pound showdown might be determined by how he does against Broner (33-2, 24 KOs).
“He loses,’’ the unbeaten Garcia said. “He has lost. I don’t lose. I don’t believe anyone around my division can beat me. I believe I’m the better fighter.”
