Stylistically, how has Broner changed/improved since the Ponce De Leon fight?

[Dr Rumack]

This sequence shows how comfortable Broner is defending inside the pocket.



Notice as Escobedo throws a jab, Broner sees it coming and performs an inside parry, knocking Escobedo’s lead hand down. Escobedo then follows up with a right and left hook towards the body, but Broner, always relaxed on the inside, intercepts both shots easily using his left elbow to block the right, and right elbow to block the left.



Look how Escobedo is attacking Broner the same way over and over. As Escobedo comes in with another left hook/right hook combination, Broner doesn’t even have to adjust his guard. Because Escobedo’s shots are coming in wide, Broner knows he can catch them on his gloves and shoulders by simply rotating his hips. Notice how Broner’s chin is hidden behind his lead shoulder and right glove at all times.



Here’s Broner hiding behind his shoulder, this time, disguising his offense. As he pushes Escobedo towards the ropes, notice how Broner is still in a defensive position {chin protected by his lead shoulder and right glove} but he’s also in position to land a right uppercut, or, as he does in this scenario, use his left arm to separate himself from Escobedo in order to land a right hook to the side of Escobedo’s body, underneath Escobedo’s high guard.

By looking at the sequences above, it’s doesn’t take long to realize that Adrien Broner is a very skilled individual. It doesn’t take long to come away with the conclusion that all of Vicente Escobedo’s attacks were too predictable either. Escobedo was never going to take Broner by surprise by standing right in front of him without the using any feints, a change of angle or any creativity prior to launching an attack. Every single Escobedo assault consisted of him attacking in a straight line, throwing nothing but wide left/right combinations. No fighter is going to get beyond Broner by simply pushing forward, hoping to get inside and rough him up. As I’ve already mentioned, I believe Broner’s shoulder roll defense is the perfect foil for neutralizing wide shots on the inside. Once a fighter gets too close to Broner, it’s nigh on impossible for them to throw anything other than wide punches. Broner is very good at eliminating his opponent’s attacking options. By covering up and looking vulnerable, he manipulates his opponents into thinking they will have more success by jumping in and swarming all over him, as opposed to standing off and boxing him.

[Dr Rumack]

And now the PDL fight:

In March of 2011, Adrien Broner won a hotly disputed decision over rugged veteran, Daniel Ponce De Leon. As I’m sure you’re all aware, De Leon is far from an elite level fighter. He’s not the fastest, not the most athletic nor is he the most technically gifted, and yet he was able to fight on even terms with Adrien Broner for 12 rounds because of a well laid out game plan.

So what was Daniel Ponce De Leon able to do against Adrien Broner that Vicente Escobedo could not?

Movement



It’s immediately apparent here, that Ponce De Leon is using more of the ring than what Vicente Escobedo did during his fight with Broner. Whereas Escobedo was always right in front of Broner, peeking out beyond his earmuff guard and his feet in line with his shoulders, De Leon is moving laterally, side to side and giving Broner lots of different looks. Moving in this way doesn’t allow Broner to plant his feet and set himself –crucial elements that are required in order for the shoulder defense to be effective.

Feinting



Notice how De Leon comes in with a foot feint and instantly causes Broner to react. De Leon hasn’t even thrown a punch yet, but he’s managed to do something to Broner that Escobedo couldn’t, and that’s put Broner on to his back foot.



Notice how Ponce De Leon makes Broner reluctant to throw by feinting him. As De Leon takes a step forward, Broner reacts and leans away. As Broner resets, De Leon steps in again and causes Broner to react again. Feinting in this way disrupts an opponent’s rhythm. Broner is at his best when he’s dictating things -using his slick skills to control the inside action or keeping his opponent occupied with the jab. Broner is too busy thinking about De Leon’s sudden sporadic bursts to do either in this instance. I also want you take another look at Broner’s feet as Ponce De Leon is stepping in. Notice how Broner never really takes a step back. Instead, he relies on nothing but upper body movement to avoid an attack.

[Doctor_Tenma]

The last time someone used foot movement against Broner he looked like dog shyt, most people thought he lost.

Broner is still the same fighter IMO, and after Mag's uses his foot work to outbox Broner everyone will see that he hasn't improved much since Ponce.

There was nothing befuddling about PDL's footwork, most guys get intimidated by his lopping left hand, especially when he lunges in. Gonzalez was intimidated by it, Gamboa was made to fight in spurts. Mares had the most success because he accepted PDL's challenge, didn't stray away and exchanged. Broner, this refined version would have done the same as he can fight in the pocket now. Malignaggi is getting stopped by the way......

[Dr Rumack]

Using southpaw angles effectively



De Leon is not the quickest of fighters by any stretch of the imagination, but because he has a clear understanding of angles, he’s able to attack where Broner’s at his most vulnerable –in a position where he’s unable to defend and counter with maximum effect. See how De Leon has stepped inside of Broner’s lead shoulder in order to land his lead hand, as opposed to attacking from outside of it as Escobedo did. Broner’s defense is ineffective if the attack is travelling inside of his lead shoulder.



Once again, De Leon has managed to get a dominant angle on Broner. As Broner jabs, De Leon ducks under it before landing his trailing to the body. Notice how as De Leon steps in, he’s successful in getting his lead foot outside of Broner’s.



It’s the same story again in this sequence. As Ponce De Leon steps forward, Broner is rooted to the spot. Because Broner defends primarily by planting his feet and using upper body movement, as opposed to moving away to avoid an attack, De Leon can gain the outside position and land his trailing hands to Broner’s body by stepping outside of him. A simple step back may have shut down Ponce De Leon’s charge.

[UTEP]

how does a 20 year old fighter win at the world level and not improve? that doesnt even make sense. u are letting your bias cloud your sense.

After Mag's uses his footwork to outbox Broner everyone will see that Broner hasn't improved much since the Ponce fight, IMO.

[Kagami Taiga]

After Mag's uses his footwork to outbox Broner everyone will see that Broner hasn't improved much since the Ponce fight, IMO.

lol, wishful thinking. its more that u dont want him to have improved. its clear to anyone whose followed him that he has. he had a tough fight against a quality, world level fighter and he wasnt in trouble once and he had plenty of moments in the fight. all this at the age of 21. how ppl use that fight against him is beyond me. sure hes no floyd, but who is?

[Frank Ducketts]

Broner hasn't improved because he made those racist comments. Now Matthysse has improved since he lost to Judah and Peterson. His footwork, lunges and missed punches hitting the canvas, lack of jab, and boxing skills have made major scientific adjustments in the sport of boxing. Just ask Dallas, Ajose and Peterson. He fights nothing like he did when he lost those two fights.

[Dr Rumack]

Mixing up the target with the one-two



Here, Ponce De Leon is drifting left before falling in with an overhand left. Notice how De Leon throws a range finding right before throwing the left. Doing this forces Broner into opening up with a right hand. Believing this was De Leon’s primary attack, Broner left himself available for the left hand over the top. It’s yet another unpredictable, but brilliant strategical attack from Ponce De Leon –drifting left, inside of Broner’s lead shoulder, before attacking in an unpredictable manner, using relatively straight shots as opposed to the wider, easier to read shots of Escobedo.

And another…



De Leon is successful using the same strategy here as well. Only this time, he alternates the target by going to the body instead. Again, Ponce De Leon comes in from the outside and throws a range finding lead right hand before dropping a left hook into Broner’s stomach.








As you can see, there were vast differences between the ways in which Vicente Escobedo and Daniel Ponce De Leon went about their business with Adrien Broner.

Although there was an obvious weight issue when they fought, Vicente Escobedo would have had very little success against Adrien Broner, regardless of weight because;

- He lacked creativity on offense

- Showed little to no lateral movement

- Attacked and backed up in straight lines

- Remained stationary and in front of Broner for the duration of the fight

- Continued to throw punches outside of Broner’s lead shoulder.

- Couldn’t avoid the pocket

- Threw wide, telegraphed, looping punches

On the other hand, Daniel Ponce De Leon had a lot of success against Adrien Broner because;

- He used plenty of lateral movement

- Used his southpaw stance to its full affect {angles}

- Mixed up his punches, high and low

- Used feints

- Avoided the inside for long periods of the fight

- Used an unpredictable” in and out” strategy

- Threw straight punches

So what can Tony DeMarco take from both of these fights?

Although common perception says that a defensive counter puncher is susceptible to volume and pressure, I believe that an inside fight here would favor Adrien Broner. Besides, not everyone is able to maintain the same kind of frenetic pace that Abner Mares produced against Anselmo Moreno last weekend.

No, in my view, Tony DeMarco should avoid getting too close to Broner. From mid to long range, there are multiple offensive weapons and angles to choose from. Once inside, however, such is the way that Broner positions himself in relation to his opponent, there are only a few attacking options available, primarily a right or a left hook. When most people look at a fighter like Broner, they assume his defensive skills are a result of God-given perception, when really, it’s down to visual clarity amid heavy fire and the probability of an opponent’s attack. When Broner is defending, his eyes are wide open and he sees everything that’s going on. If an opponent is right up on top of him, then rest assured, he knows that all he needs to look out for are the shots that he’s given his opponent permission to throw, so to speak. It’s all about anticipation. Vicente Escobedo continued to put himself in a position where he could throw nothing but wide hooks around the sides of Broner’s guard. Broner knew this and allowed Escobedo to throw wide shots at his arms, shoulders and elbows, before systematically breaking him down.

I believe DeMarco would be well advised to take a leaf out of Ponce De Leon’s book by using plenty of movement combined with feints, sporadic attacks and straight punching, and also by moving to Broner’s right, and attacking inside of his lead shoulder.

Even though Broner eventually went on to win the fight, he never quite came to terms with what Ponce De Leon was doing to him. DeMarco is an intelligent, gutsy, bigger and probably a quicker fighter than Ponce De Leon. Oh, and he’s got those southpaw angles on his side too.

However, saying what someone could or should do and what someone can do are two very different things entirely. Things look a lot differently in the heat of the battle and I have a funny feeling that Adrien Broner has improved a lot since his struggle with Daniel Ponce De Leon.

If I was a gambling man, I’d say Broner will be too fast and too skilled for DeMarco . I can’t get the vision of Jorge Linares boxing circles round DeMarco before he was eventually cut up and stopped. Simply put, Adrien Broner is bigger, faster and stronger than Linares. He’s also much better defensively and has way more punching power than Jorge Linares too. The more I think about it, the more I can envision Broner taking DeMarco out before the final bell. I sense we haven’t seen the best of Adrien Broner just yet. Maybe this Saturday we get to see something special from a potentially very special fighter.

[UTEP]

lol, wishful thinking. its more that u dont want him to have improved. its clear to anyone whose followed him that he has. he had a tough fight against a quality, world level fighter and he wasnt in trouble once and he had plenty of moments in the fight. all this at the age of 21. how ppl use that fight against him is beyond me. sure hes no floyd, but who is?

Broner already has problems cutting the ring off at 130 and 135, at 147 he isn't gonna be anything but a slow plodder. Broner does not belong in the welterweight division.

8 rounds to 4 Mags. UD.

[Frank Ducketts]

lol, wishful thinking. its more that u dont want him to have improved. its clear to anyone whose followed him that he has. he had a tough fight against a quality, world level fighter and he wasnt in trouble once and he had plenty of moments in the fight. all this at the age of 21. how ppl use that fight against him is beyond me. sure hes no floyd, but who is?

Don't waste your time. Trust me Demps...don't waste your time lol.