By: Albert Alvarez
Antonio DeMarco(28-2-1) vs. Adrien Broner (24-0) fight prediction- This Saturday night, Live from Atlantic City on HBO, Antonio DeMarco will look to find a solution to ”The Problem” that is, Adrien Broner. On paper, this fight looks to be Broner’s first real stiff test. Thing is, no fight is ever fought on paper. DeMarco is a very good solid fighter with good size, good reach, and a lot of heart.
In the opposite corner, DeMarco will be facing a young fighter who happens to have great quickness, good footwork, above average strength, and the ability to be able to make quick adjustments. If DeMarco can stick to that long jab of his, DeMarco will then be able to complicate things a bit for Broner. Unfortunately, DeMarco’s southpaw stance, long jab, and landing a very lucky punch, are the only real chances that I see going good for DeMarco. Other than that, I feel that this fight will play out very similar to how Broner/Escobedo played out. DeMarco is supposed to be the bigger stronger fighter, but once Broner gets in close, everything going good for DeMarco will then be tossed out the window.
Maybe I’m simply giving Broner too much credit, which in return is not allowing me to give DeMarco enough credit. But truth be told, my eyes tell me that DeMarco will be at a big disadvantage. Allow me to explain. When a taller fighter is fighting against a shorter fighter, the taller fighter knows that he must use his height, reach, and distance to be his advantages over the shorter fighter. So the taller fighter must stand tall, fully stretched out, and must pop that long jab to be able to not only set up a shot, but to keep the shorter fighter at a safe distance. To be able to do this, the taller fighter knows that he must keep the fight in the center of the ring. Now, here’s the thing with that. Broner is a classic pure boxer with a very high boxing IQ. The taller fighter would be asking for a death wish if he tries to keep Broner in the center, this will allow Broner more time to think. And one must never allow a counter puncher more time to think.
By allowing Broner to think, you would be giving him all the bread on the table and allowing him to butter it. Broner will then out box you and pick you apart by throwing a razor sharp left hand over your fully extended jab. At that point, the taller fighters main weapon, the jab, will be completely taken away from him. So now, the bigger taller fighter will then go into plan B and will then look to take the smaller compact fighter to the ropes and will look to bang away. That would be suicide for DeMarco, why you ask? Because the taller fighter will be taking away his own advantages by employing this tactic. The taller fighter will then have to operate from close range, forcing him to shorten the distance on his punches., thus presenting the shorter fighter with more body for him to beat on. Remember, it’s much easier to punch up, than it is to punch down.
Effective clean punching will show face, and make no mistake about it, Broner will score plenty. It will take Broner 2-3 rounds to crack the southpaw stance of DeMarco’s, and after that, it will be hunting season. One thing to remember, is that Jorge Linares was out boxing DeMarco when they faced one another. Had Linares’s face stayed together, Linares was on his way to beating DeMarco. If Linares can out box DeMarco, then I don’t see why Broner can’t. I know, I know, styles make fights. But I strongly feel that DeMarco simply does not have the skill or the style to beat Broner.
I understand that size and weight do not win fights, but if used right, it can present a much better look. It’s no coincidence that Ponce De Leon, a fighter smaller than Broner has been the closest fighter to give Broner an L. The placement of your feet and punching from a certain angle can and will open up a lot of opportunities. I’ll take it a step further, I feel that DeMarco is a better rounded fighter than a fighter like De Leon. But I’m willing to bet that De Leon will always give Broner a slightly tougher fight than DeMarco will be able to. Look at last week, I thought that Moreno’s style would be too much for Mares. As we all saw, turns out that Mares’s grit and fire was too much for Moreno to deal with. I see the same here, I see Broner being the smarter, quicker, stronger, and just an over all better fighter than DeMarco. And because of that, I am taking Broner to take the WBC lightweight title from DeMarco. Broner by late Technical Knockout, or by Unanimous Decision.
