Adrien Broner confirmed Thursday that he’ll end another long layoff July 23 in Chicago.
Broner stated in a post to his Instagram account that he’ll oppose Omar Figueroa Jr. that night, but he didn’t identify the site for their fight. Broner and Figueroa are expected to meet in a welterweight bout.
“This sh!t was [supposed] to happen years ago,” Broner wrote. “But I ain’t complaining. See y’all in [Chicago].”
Boxing Scene contributor Francisco Salazar reported on Twitter that FOX will televise the Broner-Figueroa fight. FOX hasn’t broadcast a Premier Boxing Champions show since Christmas night.
Showtime has televised each of Broner’s past five fights either live on the network or on pay-per-view.
Cincinnati’s Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs, 1 NC) hasn’t fought since his 12-round, unanimous-decision win against Puerto Rico’s Jovanie Santiago in February 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Broner’s appearance 15 months ago marked his return from a two-year hiatus. Before the former four-division champion beat Santiago (14-2-1, 10 KOs) in what was a competitive fight, Broner hadn’t boxed since Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao out-pointed him unanimously in a 12-round welterweight title fight that headlined a Showtime Pay-Per-View event in January 2019 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The polarizing Broner, 32, has boxed just five times overall in the past six years.
Figueroa (28-2-1, 19 KOs) hasn’t been active in recent years, either. The Weslaco, Texas native has fought only three times since July 2017.
The 32-year-old Figueroa, a former WBC lightweight champion, has lost back-to-back bouts to former WBA welterweight champ Yordenis Ugas and Abel Ramos.
Cuba’s Ugas (27-5, 12 KOs) defeated Figueroa by unanimous decision in their 12-round bout in July 2019 at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Ramos (27-5-2, 21 KOs), of Casa Grande, Arizona, stopped Figueroa following six one-sided rounds 13 months ago at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
Last edited by Ruthless-RKO on 16 Aug 2022, 05:48, edited 9 times in total.
Broner is probably the most naturally talented fighter I’ve ever seen. We’ve only really seen Broner at 10% capacity in the ring. If Broner was to train harder and let his hands go he’d be the next Sugar Ray Robinson.
I think the long lay off will have served Broner well. Hopefully his team will release a statement that Broner has rededicated himself to the sport of boxing and is training harder than ever before.
I’m very much looking forward to this fight and I hope it’s ppv. Broner is at a crossroad and I believe that pressure will motivate him to put in maximum effort. I see Broner beating Fig and then lining up a shot with Spence. Broner would probably outwork Spence if that fight were to occur.
Broner is celebrating like the Queen-she has spent 70 years on the throne. And while Broner has, according to his insta, spent only a few years on the throne, his dedication to the throne ( including while showering) definitely shows up her Magesty. She never flushes cash for the Social, she only to wipe her bum.
The Queen of course, is sponsored by the British taxpayers, while Broner goes it alone, begging on Instagram for donations like a glorified street begger. The Queen only has to fund Prince Andrew's legal team, but Broner has 7 kids to 6 baby mommas.
Long may they both reign
I legit thought Figueroa was at least 5' 10" because he looked the same height as Ugas. Dude looks 5' 6" there. I'm pretty sure Broner is like 5' 5". Ugas must be a freaking shape-shifter or something, same with Canelo.
Adrien Broner has revealed a fan pestered him for money on Instagram as he continues training for a comeback to boxing.
“The Problem” offered the teenager some advice as the youngster firstly asked for $200 and then $70 for a Lyft.
Broner wasn’t having any of it and told the fan to keep grinding to make their hustle.
“Some people need help, and some people just don’t learn from their mistakes in this situation. I see a little guy trying to better himself and needs a little guidance. Just keep trying to make a way,” said Broner.
“I see many people left me and thought I won’t be champion again,” Broner said. “Now it’s just me, my coach Mike Stafford and cutman. I want to keep it this way with no hard feelings for nobody.
“Some of the closest people switched up on me, and I’m fine with their decision. Because I know I’m a hustler, I started this alone.
How far has Omar Figueroa fallen to end up in this clown show? At one point he was a fine lightweight champion, good power, reflexes, and technique. It seems like he became irrelevant in a hurry after putting on weight and moving to welterweight. Didn't have the same power and speed and hasn't been able to compete at a comparable level as he did at the lower weights. Last couple fights he's looked soft around the middle and didn't seem to have his head in the game.
I can see Broner cruising to an easy victory with a low work rate. He's usually in shape at least, have a feeling this is a fight Omar is suppose to lose. One last decent paycheck. Or to look at it another way, if Broner struggles it'll tell us a lot about where he's at.
thereverend wrote: ↑09 Jun 2022, 09:33
How far has Omar Figueroa fallen to end up in this clown show? At one point he was a fine lightweight champion, good power, reflexes, and technique. It seems like he became irrelevant in a hurry after putting on weight and moving to welterweight. Didn't have the same power and speed and hasn't been able to compete at a comparable level as he did at the lower weights. Last couple fights he's looked soft around the middle and didn't seem to have his head in the game.
I can see Broner cruising to an easy victory with a low work rate. He's usually in shape at least, have a feeling this is a fight Omar is suppose to lose. One last decent paycheck. Or to look at it another way, if Broner struggles it'll tell us a lot about where he's at.
Why did he take 2 years out after beating Robert Guerrero in 2017?
Why did he take 2 years out after beating Robert Guerrero in 2017?
Exactly. Before the layoff he was a sharp young fighter. When he came back he had put on weight, looked slower and disinterested. Probably ran out of $$ for coke and whores.
Adrien Broner and Omar Figueroa Jr. have a date, a site and a network for their previously announced welterweight fight.
Boxing Scene has learned that Showtime will broadcast Broner-Figueroa as the main event of a tripleheader August 20 from Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Broner and Figueroa announced on their social media platforms last month that they agreed to box, but they initially indicated that they would square off July 23 somewhere in Chicago.
Showtime will televise two 12-round title bouts before Broner and Figueroa fight next month.
Roger Gutierrez will defend his WBA world 130-pound championship against Hector Luis Garcia in one of those bouts. Albert Puello and Batyr Akhmedov will square off for the vacant WBA 140-pound title last owned by Josh Taylor in the other championship match Showtime will air August 20.
Venezuela’s Gutierrez (26-3-1, 20 KOs) and the Dominican Republic’s Garcia (15-0, 10 KOs) were rumored to have agreed to fight this Sunday night in Caracas, Venezuela, as part of the WBA’s KO Drugs Festival. Garcia’s handlers contend that they never agreed to challenge Gutierrez in his home country.
Garcia upset previously unbeaten Brooklyn native Chris Colbert (16-1, 6 KOs) in their 12-rounder February 26 at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas to earn a shot at Gutierrez’s crown.
A then-unknown Garcia replaced Gutierrez as Colbert’s opponent on approximately three weeks’ notice after Gutierrez tested positive for COVID-19. Colbert entered the ring for their 12-round elimination match as a 22-1 favorite.
The WBA ordered the Dominican Republic’s Puello (20-0, 10 KOs) and Uzbekistan’s Akhmedov (9-1, 8 KOs) to fight for its unclaimed super lightweight title last month. Akhmedov has suffered only a debatable defeat to former WBA secondary champion Mario Barrios (26-2, 17 KOs), who was undefeated when he dropped Akhmedov twice and overcame Akhmedov’s late rally to win a unanimous decision in September 2019 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The WBA stripped its 140-pound crown from Taylor (19-0, 13 KOs) in mid-May when he declined to make a mandated defense against Puello. The Scottish southpaw became boxing’s second undisputed 140-pound champion of the four-belt era in May 2021, but he was disinterested in making numerous mandatory defenses after defeating England’s Jack Catterall (26-1, 13 KOs), the mandatory challenger for his WBO belt, by split decision in a very competitive 12-round fight February 26 at The OVO Hydro in Glasgow.
As for Broner and Figueroa, they’ll square off in a bout between 32-year-old former champions who are at similar stages of their careers. Both boxers also will end long layoffs August 20.
Cincinnati’s Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs, 1 NC) hasn’t boxed since his 12-round, unanimous-decision win against Puerto Rico’s Jovanie Santiago in February 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. His victory over Santiago (14-2-1, 10 KOs) marked the end of a two-year hiatus for the polarizing Broner, who has fought just five times in the past six years.
Figueroa most recently lost by technical knockout to Abel Ramos, who stopped Figueroa following six one-sided rounds in May 2021 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The Weslaco, Texas native has lost back-to-back bouts to Ramos (27-5-2, 21 KOs) and former WBA welterweight champ Yordenis Ugas (27-5, 12 KOs), who defeated Figueroa by unanimous decision in their 12-round bout in July 2019 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
It's not too bad a card.
Broner is probably going to clam up if it gets put on him, but there should be enough on the card to make it all worth watching.
Well, I've sat through worse
A catch weight they can bump up a bit for Adrian on fight week
Still not a bad card, and if it helps the main event allowing Broner to actually get his unmotivated tubby arse in the ring, then sure...
Four-division world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner, one of the sport’s most notable attractions and biggest personalities, will make his long-awaited return against all-action former world champion Omar “Panterita” Figueroa in a 12-round super lightweight showdown headlining action live on SHOWTIME on Saturday, August 20 from Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla. in a Premier Boxing Champions event.
The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® telecast begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and will feature top 140-pounders Alberto Puello and Batyr Akhmedov squaring off for the vacant WBA Super Lightweight World Championship in the co-main event. Plus, WBA Super Featherweight World Champion Roger Gutierrez defends his title against unbeaten Hector Garcia in the telecast opener.
Tickets for the live event are on sale now and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com.
The two former champions present an intriguing contrast of styles as the flashy, technical skills of Broner match up against the bruising, volume attack of Figueroa. Both fighters have reached incredible highs and delivered memorable moments throughout their careers and will look to go through one another to return to championship contention.
Cincinnati’s Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs), is one of the most popular and colorful personalities in the sport and quickly rose to prominence by combining supreme boxing with a brash outspoken personality. By the age of 26, he had captured world titles at 130, 135, 140 and 147 pounds, becoming one of only eight active fighters to win a world championship in four divisions. Broner has faced several multi-division world champions such as Manny Pacquiao, Paulie Malignaggi, Marcos Maidana, Mikey Garcia and Jessie Vargas. He most recently won a unanimous decision over Jovanie Santiago in February 2021 and now returns to the super lightweight division where he dominated Khabib Allakhverdiev to win a 140-pound title in 2015.
“I’m going in there to try to stop Figueroa,” said Broner. “I’m going to take the fight to him and go ahead and get him out of there. What I expect from him is the same gruesome Figueroa that we always see. He’ll try to make it a rough fight. Every fighter is different, but I don’t think he’ll be hard to hit. So, I’ll see ya’ll on August 20.’’
The 32-year-old Figueroa (28-2-1, 19 KOs) is from a fighting family along with his younger brother Brandon, a former super bantamweight world champion. Figueroa won the WBC Lightweight World Championship with a unanimous decision victory over Nihito Arakawa in a 2013 “Fight of the Year” and successfully defended the title two times before moving up to super lightweight in 2015. Figueroa has also fought at welterweight, earning action-packed victories over Robert Guerrero, John Molina Jr., and Antonio DeMarco. He’ll move back down to super lightweight on August 20 after back-to-back defeats against Yordenis Ugas and Abel Ramos.
“I’m excited to move on to the next phase of my life and career, especially now that my mental health is at the forefront of everything I do,” said Figueroa. “Having a clear mind has been the best thing to happen to me. Now I’m able to focus 100% on my boxing career and I can’t wait to be back in the ring on August 20.”
A native of San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic, Puello (20-0, 10 KOs) now fights out of Las Vegas under the guidance of renowned coach Ismael Salas. The 27-year-old leapt up the rankings in July 2019, handing Jonathan Alonso his first career defeat with a unanimous decision victory that earned him an interim title. Puello was successful in his U.S. debut in December 2021, as he scored a unanimous decision victory over Veshawn Owens in Owen’s hometown.
“I’m very committed to winning this fight for my team and my country,” said Puello. “I am more than prepared to make the most of this opportunity. My only focus is on earning this victory, becoming world champion and taking on all the challenges that come my way after that.”
Born in Uzbekistan and now fighting out of Los Angeles, Akhmedov (9-1, 8 KOs) represented Turkey at the 2016 Olympic games. The 31-year-old turned pro in 2017 and won his first seven pro fights, with six coming by knockout. His lone blemish came in an action-packed title fight against Mario Barrios in September 2019, where he was able to survive two knockdowns to make it a close fight, before eventually losing by decision. Akhmedov has rebounded to win back-to-back fights, including a stoppage of the typically durable former world champion Argenis Mendez in June 2021.
“I’m excited that I’m finally getting my shot at the world title again,” said Akhmedov. “I have worked very hard to reach my goal of becoming world champion. This time, I’m going to do everything possible to make sure that I take full advantage of this opportunity.”
The 27-year-old Gutierrez (26-3-1, 20 KOs) captured his world title with a unanimous decision victory over Rene “Gemelo” Alvarado in January 2021, in a fight that saw him drop his opponent three times. Gutierrez followed up that performance by defending his world championship and defeating Alvarado a second time in August 2021, again earning a unanimous decision. Fighting out of his native Maracaibo, Venezuela, Gutierrez is unbeaten in his last seven outings, including four knockouts.
“I am excited to return to the ring and defend my title for the second time,” said Gutierrez. “This is going to be a difficult fight, but I am confident in my abilities and my preparation, and I know I will be victorious. I am ready to show the world again that I am the best in this division.”
Tall and rangy with good power in his left hand and a dedicated body attack, the 30-year-old Garcia (15-0, 10 KOs) scored one of the biggest upsets of the year in February, when he stepped in as a late replacement for Gutierrez to defeat then-unbeaten Chris Colbert on SHOWTIME in Las Vegas. The 5-9 Garcia represented his native San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic, in the 2016 Olympics before turning pro in December that year. Along with his countryman Puello, Garcia is also trained by the highly respected Ismael Salas in Las Vegas.
“This is a very important fight for me because I have worked for so long to win a world title,” said Garcia. “This fight is for all of the people in the Dominican Republic. I can’t wait to display my skills for them once again on SHOWTIME. It’s also a very special night because me and my friend Alberto Puello will both be fighting for world titles, the first time two Dominicans will do so on the same night. We grew up together and had the same amateur coaches and now we have a chance to make history together.”
OMAR FIGUEROA JR.
“We grew up kind of poor coming from the Valley. San Antonio was the biggest city that we could get to and enjoy. For us, this was like the maximum. So being able to camp here being so close to home has been a game changer. Obviously, I have my family here as well. I won’t say everything in this camp has gone perfect, because perfection is so hard to acquire, but everything has gone pretty close to perfect. We’re excited.
“I’m just worried about this fight. I’m not looking at anything else. I don’t know how I’m going to feel, physically and mentally. So much has changed in the past year. I’ve gone through so much since I was diagnosed regarding my mental health. It’s been tough. I’ve been doing this for 27 years now. So, I’m really looking forward to this fight.
“The biggest thing for me the past few years has been my mental health diagnosis. After my last fight, I knew there was something wrong. We did everything we needed to do in camp, we prepared right to make sure we were 100%. Everything went wrong in that fight. I started questioning myself and wondering why the heck everything went so badly. I spoke to my doctor and then I was diagnosed with all these mental health issues and that’s when I realized maybe the problem was me all along. I’ve been working on myself so much. I’m just grateful to SHOWTIME and my team and we’re excited to show how far we’ve come.
“Growing up in the Mexican culture, it’s a lot of ‘It’s all in your head. It doesn’t really exist.’ So, I had to look into it alone. I didn’t have the support of my family when it came to that. Even now, they still kind of struggle to see that. I feel it’s very taboo to a lot of people. Thankfully, I’m in a position where, having the platform I have, I’m able to shed some light on it and show that we’re all just human. Us boxers may look like we’re invincible, getting punched and cut and fighting through it, but we’re human at the end of the day. I finally took a break and looked inward and started taking care of myself, accepting the fact that I’m human, that I hurt, that I can get anxiety and that I can get depressed.
“This camp has shed some light on being vulnerable and how much it helps to allow myself to be human. Now, I talk to my family differently. If I’m having a tough day before I get here to the gym, I’ll talk to my mom or my sister. Or when I’m feeling low, we’ll just embrace. I tell them how much I love them, how much I appreciate them for being here for me. Honestly, being human is one of the best things I decided to do.
“Honestly, there was a time when I was a little bit jealous of Broner. He had such an amazing career and, like me, things got to us. As we all know, things haven’t gone the smoothest for us. So, I’m getting the word out about mental health, doing more to bring it to the mainstream and I’m glad my opponent is Adrien Broner because he’s a great advocate for that too. I feel he can make a huge difference if he sheds a little bit of light on it. Other than that, this is a great opportunity and I know it’s going to be a hell of a fight.
“I don’t watch his stuff online and see what he’s doing. Even if he does start trash talking, it’s all part of the show. He’s been through his share of struggles and I can say I honestly respect Adrien Broner.
“I’m not sure what kind of dance partner I’ll see. This is going to be a great fight for the fans of the sport.”
BRANDON FIGUEROA, Figueroa’s Brother and Former World Champion
“Both of these guys are going to bring everything to the table. I think it’s their time to shine, their time to showcase their skills and really make a statement. I’m just so proud of my brother, how far he has come and that he is still here. He’s put in the work. Every time me and my brother fight, it’s must-see. We’re all-action fighters. This is going to be amazing.
“It’s going to be a great fight. There will definitely be fireworks. I know my brother is going to put the pressure on Broner. Broner is quick, fast and slick so my brother has to keep that pressure on him, work the body and do the effective work that Marcos Maidana did when he beat Broner. Obviously, it’s not similar styles, but if he follows that game plan I believe it will work.”
OMAR FIGUEROA SR., Figueroa’s Father and Trainer
“Preparation is going well. His training has been good, sparring is good, injury-free up to now. We’re hoping he’s at 100% going into this fight.
“Omar is an offensive-minded fighter. That’s his defense. So, we’re working on conditioning for this fight. Omar is 32. He’s feeling the age a bit. That’s why you take advantage of your youth in this sport. But with Broner, that is a pretty even fight. We’re looking to win this fight and see what’s next.
“Broner is a great fighter. He derailed a bit, but he’s back on track. He and Omar took different paths and now they’re back on it. I take nothing away from Broner. He looked a little overweight from what I saw, but maybe he knows how to cut weight getting close to the fight.”
