Tags
Adrien Broner, Andy Lee, Boxing, CompuBox, Danny Garcia, John Molina, junior welterweight, Kieth Thurman, Lamont Peterson, middleweight, NBC, NBC Sports, Peter Quillin, Premier Championship Boxing, Robert Guerrero, Sports, television, WBO, welterweight
By Adam Ewing
Edited by Bethany Blue
Boxing has returned to prime-time television with NBC’s Premier Boxing Champions series. Saturday was the first time in thirty years that NBC has put this pugilistic sport as the Saturday night headliner. Al Michaels and “Sugar” Ray Leonard called boxing’s return to the mainstream magnificently.
The first fight of the co-main event was a twelve round junior welterweight bout featuring John Molina, Jr., against Adrien Broner.
John “The Gladiator” Molina Jr. was coming off back-to-back losses, one being a devastating knockout at the hands of Lucas Matthysse. Entering the ring, without his entourage, Molina bounced around nervously.
Molina’s opponent, Adrien “The Problem” Broner, walked confidentially to the ring. There was a sense he was using this as a tune up fight, hoping to get a shot at some top tier competition.
Once the fight was under way, Broner dominated start to finish. Molina was only able to land one punch through the first three minutes of the fight, and his pace never quickened.
Referee Robert Byrd asserted himself early and often by not letting the fighters fight on the inside. This took Molina away from his plan of attack, allowing Broner to get off with the jab. Byrd had his eyes on Molina every time they were in the clinch. He would break the fighters whenever their heads touched, never stopping Broner from pushing Molina’s head down. It was apparent the official had a difficult time calling a fair fight.
In the third round, Molina bounced back and connected with a few combos. Still being outworked, and ultimately losing the round, this was the only time Molina showed any offense.
Rounds four through eleven easily belonged to Broner. He was able to become an unsolvable puzzle by establishing the jab and staying away from the sneaky right hand of his opponent. During the 8th round, Broner showed his true colors. While in the clinch he made an insulting gesture and said, “He can’t hit me.” He shows time after time a complete disrespect for his opponent, and to be a well-known side piece thief.
According to CompuBox, Broner was the better fighter. He landed 219 of 502 punches, while Molina landed a meager 54 of 299. The final round was a most forgettable round. Broner avoided contact, the fans took notice, and were booing him throughout the final few minutes of the fight. He won handily on all three judges scorecards. (120-118, 120-118, 119-108)
The co-main event was a twelve round welterweight contest featuring Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, against Keith “One Time” Thurman. Thurman walked into the ring ten pounds heavier than his opponent. This was something to keep an eye on as the fight went into deeper waters.
Thurman established his power early in the second round when he rocked Guerrero. In this same round there was an unintentional clash of heads causing some aggressive swelling on Thurman’s forehead.
Over the next few rounds Guerrero landed some punches, putting some hot sauce on the swollen forehead. The swelling did not deter the young contender from attacking Guerrero with destructive combos to the head and body. Thurman would set up his power punches with a stiff jab and Guerrero could do very little to avoid them.
During the sixth, Guerrero began to show signs of swelling. Half way through the ninth round, the lights almost went out for “The Ghost”. Thurman connected with a few devastating combos knocking Guerrero down. The barrage of punches opened up a nasty gash above Guerrero’s left eyelid.
After the knockdown and the blood started to flow, Guerrero continued to fight with the heart of a champion. While he did not win any rounds after the knockdown, he kept coming towards his opponent, letting him know this was a twelve round fight.
Thurman was able to keep working the jab. Going by the CompuBox numbers, Thurman landed 211 out of 598 punches, compared to 104 of 497 for Guerrero. In the end, Thurman landed an unyielding amount of power shots, earning himself a unanimous decision. (120-107, 118-109, 118-108)
Where do these fighters go from here? For Molina (27-6), maybe it is time to hang up the gloves. He blocked too many jabs with his face to be considered a relevant fighter at this stage of his career. Broner (30-1), did nothing to improve his stock as a fighter. He could have easily finished off Molina at any point during the later rounds, yet chose the easy way out. Robert Guerrero (32-3-1) was knocked on his can late, but responded to earn the respect of those in attendance.
The belle of the ball was Keith “One Time” Thurman, with a dominant showing, he improved to 25-0-1 NC. A fight with Amir Khan would seem like a logical decision, but in the boxing world, nothing is guaranteed until both parties have signed the contract.
Boxing returns to NBC on Saturday, April 11, at 8:30P (ET) with two more outstanding fights. Junior welterweight champ Danny Garcia (29-0), brings an unblemished record to the ring against contender Lamont Peterson (33-2-1). The second fight will be Andy Lee (34-2), squaring off with Peter Quillin (31-0), for the vacated WBO middleweight title.