By Geno McGahee
On July 15, 2018, Filipino superstar, Manny Pacquiao, 60-7-2, 39 KO’s, would score the first knockout on his record since 2009. The PacMan would dominate Lucas Matthysse en route to an easy stoppage and it turned back the clock. Boxing fans were talking about Manny being in the welterweight mix and what matches could be made and the first to come along was the unpredictable and charismatic underachiever, Adrien “The Problem” Broner, 33-3-1, 24 KO’s.
This Saturday, Manny will step into the ring against the younger Broner in a very interesting showdown. The vast majority is favoring the Filipino legend, but there is enough intrigue here to draw attention. Broner, if he can focus and fight the fight that he is capable of, he may knock out a 40-year-old fighter that has seen better days.
Pacquiao has been considering beyond his better days for quite a while. In 2012, Juan Manuel Marquez would score a spectacular knockout with a huge right hand over the PacMan. He would put together three less than exciting wins before he had the big fight that was many years in the making and would lose decisively. Floyd Mayweather, JR., outboxed and used his defense and timing to take an easy decision in a very boring fight. It was the thought of many that the fight came too late and had it come in 2009, Floyd may not have gotten off so easy.
In 2017, Pacquiao would lose a controversial decision to Jeff Horn, but, controversial or not, Manny looked like an old fighter. It could have easily been the last fight of his career, but there is money to be made and fights to be made. The Matthysse fight was a safe wager, fighting another older fighter that never had the talent needed to contend with a fighter like Pacquiao. Broner is different. Broner is in this fight and is a calculated risk by team Pacquiao.
As Floyd Mayweather, JR., began aging and began talking retirement, the boxing world looked for the next big thing and many were looking directly at the brash and entertaining, Adrien Broner. Broner easily plowed through most the competition he faced and resembled Floyd in a lot of ways. He used some of the same tricks and his love/hate relationship with Mayweather has helped his career as well. He had a lot going for him and he was destined to be a pay per view star, but fat would intervene in the form of Marcos Maidana in 2013.
The truth machine, Maidana, kept pushing forward and found the shot that was most effective with Broner: the right cross. The way that Broner leans, Maidana stepped forward and landed the right hand and it put “The Problem” in retreat. A left hook landed on the chin in the second round and put Broner down and a beating would occur. Broner would show his heart but his overconfidence and defensive flaws led to the first loss of his career.
Life wasn’t the same after the Maidana defeat. He has gone 6-2-1, 2 KO’s, with losses to Shawn Porter, Mikey Garcia and a draw with Jessie Vargas. Broner has become the opponent for the upper echelon of the division. Garcia not only beat Broner, but he dominated him, overwhelming him with activity. Porter followed the same game plan, outworking Broner. He arguably lost to Jessie Vargas, a fighter that Pacquiao dominated. All the signs are pointing to an easy Pacquiao victory over Broner, but styles make fights and don’t count out the Problem just yet.
Broner will follow the game plan set by Floyd Mayweather, JR. He will be launching that right hand at Manny as he attacks, and will use his defense to fend off the incoming shots. Pacquiao will be trying to shut down all offense from Broner, which is the best way to beat him, but if the Manny that showed up against Horn is there in the ring, he will leave opportunities. It will be up to Broner to land.
The key is for Broner to find his old fire for the sport. Something happened mentally to him when he lost to Maidana. He crawled into a shell and hasn’t put up much of a fight when the opponent is quality. If he can shake this problem and opens up, he will find and he can hurt Pacquiao. This is a total game of mentality for Broner. If he can’t get his head together, look for Pacquiao to take a wide unanimous decision. If he does come in as the old Broner, we are going to have a very interesting fight.
The safe money is on the champ, Pacquiao, to retain and take the decision win. The intrigue is with Broner and what he will do on the biggest stage of his career. This makes this fight a very interesting one and Pacquiao has not let us down…outside of that 100 dollar Floyd Mayweather, JR., pay per view. He let us down there. I think we can expect more entertainment this Saturday night for sure.
