By Keith Idec
If Marcus Browne comes out firing in the first round against Badou Jack the way he did during Wednesday’s conference call, their fight just might steal the show January 19, as some have predicted.
Browne wasted little time telling the battle-tested two-division champion he is in for a very different fight than those Jack has experienced when they meet two weeks from Saturday night in Las Vegas. Jack (22-1-3, 13 KOs) and Browne (22-0, 16 KOs) will fight for the WBA’s interim light heavyweight title in a 12-rounder on the Manny Pacquiao-Adrien Broner undercard at MGM Grand Garden Arena (Showtime Pay-Per-View).
“I appreciate you signing the contract and being a man, and stepping up,” Browne said. “But come January 19th, you’ve got hell, you’ve got fury, you’ve got everything coming to you. This ain’t no Anthony Dirrell, this ain’t no washed-up George Groves that got beat up by Carl Froch twice. This ain’t no old Adonis Stevenson. This ain’t no Nathan Cleverly. This is Marcus Browne, my brother. So make sure you ready, because I know I’m ready.”
The Swedish-born, Las Vegas-based Jack has edged Dirrell and Groves by majority decision and split decision, respectively, in fights for the WBC super middleweight title. He later stopped Cleverly to win a version of the WBA light heavyweight title, which he almost immediately relinquished.
In his last fight, May 19 in Toronto, Jack boxed to a 12-round draw with Stevenson.
Browne believes he is a better, fresher fighter than those on that long list of championship-caliber opponents Jack has fought the past 3½ years. The Staten Island native is 28, seven years younger than Jack.
“I’m ready,” Browne said. “I’m working hard. I’ve worked hard for my whole career, to this point. And Badou Jack – a respectable guy, a two-time world champion – but come January 19th, I’m bringing the whole kitchen and everything else with it. So, I mean, I’m ready to take care of business. I know he knows what’s coming to him and I really ain’t got too much to say.
“I’m gonna let my hands do the talking. I’m not a brash, braggadocios kinda guy. Neither is he, from what it looks like. But at the end of the day, this fight had to have been made. It was one of the easiest fights to be made in the light heavyweight division, with Floyd [Mayweather] and Al [Haymon].”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
