By Keith Idec
Adrien Broner could’ve taken an easier fight.
But when Mikey Garcia was mentioned to him a few weeks ago as a possible opponent for his July fight, Broner embraced it. Making more money for his next bout obviously helped, but Broner’s competitive spirit inspired him to accept the Garcia fight after spending the past three months watching contemporaries Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, Andre Berto, Errol Spence Jr. and Kell Brook participate in difficult fights.
Cincinnati’s Broner (33-2, 24 KOs) and Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs), an Oxnard, California, native, are set to meet July 29. Showtime will televise their 12-round, 140-pound fight from an undetermined site.
“I just see two fighters that have got chips on their shoulders and are ready to just put on another great show of boxing,” Broner said during a recent conference call. “I’m tired of sitting around and watching everybody else fight each other. … I wanna fight the best, too, so let’s do it.”
The 27-year-old Broner, who has won world titles in four weight classes, has been impressed by the 29-year-old Garcia’s ascent toward stardom. Garcia became a champion in a third division when he knocked out Montenegro’s Dejan Zlaticanin (22-1, 15 KOs) in the third round to win the WBC lightweight title January 28 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
In his previous fight, the former featherweight and super featherweight champion stopped the Dominican Republic’s Elio Rojas (24-3, 14 KOs) in the fifth round July 30 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Garcia’s defeat of Rojas represented his return from a 30-month, contract-related layoff.
Broner beat gritty Adrian Granados (18-5-2, 12 KOs) by split decision in his last fight, a 10-rounder February 18 at Xavier University’s Cintas Center in Cincinnati.
Several Internet sports books have installed Garcia as the early favorite over Broner, even though Garcia will move up from 135 pounds to 140 to encounter an opponent who has fought as high as 147 pounds.
“I’ve watched Mikey Garcia come up,” Broner said. “He came up in the same time I came up in. I always wanna fight the best. The best fight the best and that’s what’s going on today. This fight I think is gonna be a tremendous fight, and I’m bringing my ‘A’ game. I know a lot of people are probably counting me out, but I’m counting up.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.