By Ian S Palmer
Cincinnati’s Adrien Broner will be attempting to dethrone WBC Lightweight Champion Antonio DeMarco at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Saturday Nov. 17. This could be Broner’s toughest bout since beating Daniel Ponce De Leon by a close decision back in March of 2011. Since then, he’s been fed overmatched opponents and has stopped them all within the distance. DeMarco should give Broner a decent bout as the southpaw is a sound boxer who throws accurate and sharp punches and also possesses pretty good power.
The 26-year-old DeMarco has a solid chin and this was seen in his bouts against Jorge Linares and the late Edwin Valero. He’s got a lot of heart and is a natural lightweight while Broner is a former WBC Super Featherweight Champion who’s moving up in weight. DeMarco has faced some tough opponents in his career since turning pro back in 2004 in the likes of Linares, Valero, Almazbek Raiymkulov, Daniel Attah, Reyes Sanchez, and John Molina so he shouldn’t be intimidated by Broner. If DeMarco can take Broner’s power then the challenger could be in for a frustrating night.
The champion will be carrying a record of 28-2-1 with 21 KOs with him into the ring while the 23-year-old Broner, who turned pro in 2008, is undefeated at 24-0 with 20 KO’s. DeMarco’s only losses have come against Valero in 2010 when the fight was stopped after the ninth round, and back in 2006 when he lost a six-round majority decision to Anthony Vasquez. He won the vacant WBC with an 11th-round TKO over Linares in October of 2011 and has defended it twice with his last bout being a first-round KO over Molina on Sept. 8.
Broner is getting a title shot in his very first fight in the lightweight division and it’s likely that he’ll only hang around the division for one or two fights since there aren’t really any big-name money boxers at 135 lbs right now with Brandon Rios and Juan Manuel Marquez moving up in weight. His toughest opponents so far have been Ponce De Leon, Eloy Perez, and Vicente Escobedo and he knocked the latter two out his last bout took place in July when he stopped Escobedo in the fifth round.
DeMarco has probably faced the tougher opposition over the years, but that’s not really going to mean anything in this fight. His defence isn’t the greatest and Broner shouldn’t have any problem finding him. However, Broner’s one of those guys you either love or hate since he’s quite cocky in and out of the ring and there will certainly be a lot of fans cheering against him on Saturday. DeMarco said he hopes that Broner takes him too lightly as he’s viewing it as the toughest fight of his life and is prepared for the challenge.
Prediction
The best way to fight Broner is to be aggressive and put him on the back foot. It’s obvious that the American has quite a bit of talent, but nobody really knows how big his heart is yet since he hasn’t been truly tested in the ring. This bout could end very quickly with Broner stopping the champion or it could be an entertaining affair that reaches the distance. Broner’s definitely the favourite going into it and he’ll probably live up to that billing by stopping DeMarco in the second half of the fight.
