By Ian S Palmer
WBA Welterweight Champion Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines will be taking on Adrien Broner of Cincinnati, Ohio at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada this Saturday, January 19th. The 12-round bout will be shown live on Showtime pay-per-view in America while fans in the UK can see it live on free tv on ITV 4. Pacquiao won the title with a seventh-round TKO over Lucas Matthysse last July while Broner’s last outing resulted in a 12-round majority draw with Jessie Vargas in April.
Ring legend Pacquiao is now 40 years old and will climb through the ring ropes with a record of 60-7-2 with 39 Kos. He’s still an excellent boxer with fine skills and speed, but Pacquiao’s power hasn’t been evident for quite some time even with the stoppage of Matthysse. His last KO victory before that was eight years earlier when he stopped Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico in the 12th round back in 2009. Still, his knockout ratio currently stands at a decent 57 per cent, but he can’t really depend on his power to be the difference maker anymore.
Pacquiao’s chin has held up well since Juan Manuel Marquez landed the perfect punch on him in the sixth round back in December of 2012, but he’s been stopped in three of his seven career losses. Since he’s been on the canvas a few times during his career he needs to keep his focus at all times and make sure he doesn’t leave himself wide open for a Broner power shot. His key to winning this fight will be his speed and chin as he’ll need to strike quickly and move out of range.
Pacquiao stands just over 5-feet-5-inches tall and owns a 67-inch reach. He’s boxed 462 rounds since he turned pro back in 1995. He has tons of big-fight experience against the best in the world after winning world titles in eight weight classes. Pacquiao has simply faced all the top boxers of his era and has lost just seven times. Like himself, a good number of his past opponents will be ending up in the hall of fame and this is what makes him a boxing legend. He’s fleet of foot with great hand speed and controls most fights with his right jab, stinging left hand and lightning-quick combinations.
The 29-year-old Broner is a former four-division world champion at junior lightweight, lightweight, junior welterweight and welterweight. He’ll climb through the ropes with a record of 33-3-1 along with 24 Kos. Broner suffered his three defeats at the hands of Mikey Garcia in 2017, Marcos Maidana of Argentina in 2013 and fellow American Shawn Porter back in June of 2015, who all beat him by 12-round unanimous decisions in the welterweight division.
Broner possesses enough talent to be an elite boxer, but his maturity level, attitude and work habits could all do with a lot of improvement. He keeps promising fans he’s changed, but they’ll have to wait until Saturday night to judge for themselves. Broner stands just over 5-feet-6-inches tall with a 69-inch reach and possesses excellent speed and good power under as well as plenty of pro experience. He’s fought 223 rounds since turning pro in 2008 and has a current knockout ratio of 63 per cent.
Broner’s beaten some good opponents over the years such as Daniel Ponce De Leon, Jason Litzau, Eloy Perez, Vicente Escobedo, Antonio DeMarco, Gavin Rees, Paulie Malignaggi, Carlos Molina, John Molina Jr., Emmanuel Taylor and Khabib Allakhverdiev. He may have plenty of problems outside of the ring due to his idiotic actions, but he’s still one of the best boxers inside the squared circle at the moment and can’t be taken lightly by Pacquiao.
Prediction…
The difference here could come down to work ethic and heart and this is usually where Broner lets himself and his fans down. Broner’s career seems to be on the downswing, but a win here would put him back in the picture. Pacquiao is the more naturally-talented boxer, but that doesn’t guarantee anything as we saw in his loss against Jeff Horn in 2016. He’ll need to work hard for all 12 rounds with speed and movement and make sure he doesn’t get tagged directly on the chin. Pacquiao needs to get out of the gate early and establish his power and rhythm by letting his hands go as often as possible to keep Broner on the back foot. Don’t be surprised by any outcome here, but the most likely scenarios appear to be a Pacquiao decision or a Broner stoppage. I think Pacquiao’s style should be good enough to take a decision as long as his chin holds out.
