Although we have 5 world title fights this weekend there is one that really stands out, a fight that has split opinion on who "will" win and who people "want" to win and that's the fight between loud mouth Adrien Broner (27-0, 22) and Argentina's always exciting Marcos Rene Maidana (34-3, 31). The bout, dubbed "Danger Zone" sees Broner's WBA Welterweight title up for grabs as he takes on easily his most dangerous for so far. Likewise however Miadana takes probably his most talented opponent to date.
For Broner this is a pivotal contest. He is defending his WBA title for the first time since claiming it, in controversial fashion, from Paulie Malignaggi. In that fight Broner looked awful. He posed, he got hit and he looked less like "The Problem" and more like a man "With Problems". It was an awful performance. Was it that he he over-looked Malignaggi, who many had written off? Was it that Welterweight wasn't good for his body? Was it that outside the ring issues had got to him? Whatever it was he really didn't perform.
If a fighter "doesn't perform" against Maidana they tend to feel his power. He's not the greatest of finishers by any stretch of the imagination but he is one of those thudding punchers who hurt you every time they land. If Broner takes half as many Maidana shots as he took Malinaggi shots then he'll be in a lot of trouble.
At his best Broner is a really talented fighter. He has a lovely variety of punches, amazing hand speed, fantastic natural athletic ability and real explosiveness. At his worst he's a fighter who looks to have never mastered the basics. His jab is often none existent, his foot work is awful and his defense is sloppy to say the least. He's one of many fighters who I tend to feel is more athlete than boxer, and this is often not a great trait, especially at the world level where opponents tend to be pretty good.
Whilst a loss for Broner wouldn't necessarily be the end I don't imagine he would ever be the same person if he had an "L" on his record.
In regards to Maidana he's the under-dog, he's not expected to win but he's also unwilling to accept a loss where he can. He's a fighter at heart and whilst he lacks the speed and reflexes and Broner he has the fighters mentality of refusing to quit, getting up when knocked down, biting on the gumshield and going for it.
It's not rare to see Maidana hurt, in fact he's been down numerous time, but we've never seen anyone keep Maidana down. His recuperative powers are genuinely fantastic, his mental toughness is unquestionable and although he'll never be Sugar Ray Robinson his skills do seem to be improving even now. He's still crude but much less saw than when he was fighting the likes of Victor Ortiz.
For this fight I have several questions. Will "the real" Broner turn up? If not he'll lose. Can they take each others power? If saw Maidana will really struggle. Will Maidana be able to turn this in to a war? If he can he has a fantastic chance just on the cumulative effect of his shots.
If Broner turns up and acts like a fighter I honesty believe he can stop Maidana. If he acts like a man who has already won the fight before the first punch is thrown however, he gets stopped.
Prediction-Broner TKO10
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