Adrien Broner is being viewed as the heir apparent. Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. won’t be around forever. And early signs indicate Broner might have the talent and charisma it takes to be a superstar in the sport. But nothing is a given. It has to be earned in the ring.
Broner takes another step toward gaining more attention tonight when he challenges Antonio DeMarco of Mexico (28-2-1, 21 KOs) for his WBC lightweight championship in Atlantic City. Broner (24-0, 20 KOs) of Cincinnati is fighting in the 135-pound division for the first time after losing his super featherweight title on the scale before his fight with Vincente Escobedo last July. Broner stopped Escobedo in the fifth round, and his lack of professionalism in not making weight was largely overlooked.
Now he gets a chance at DeMarco’s title.
“DeMarco is definitely my best opponent so far on paper,” Broner said. “It is the biggest fight of my career thus far. I am not looking past anyone. I have to take it one fight at a time. I am ready to show my talent.”
Broner’s shtick can be a tough swallow. At age 23, he raps like Roy Jones, talks trash like Mayweather, and likes to brush his hair after fights like Muhammad Ali. His boxing style is reminiscent of Mayweather and if you want to know how good he is, just ask him.
”We are going head over heels, b—s to the walls with this one,” Broner said. “Let’s go. Rock and roll. It is time to put on a show. You aren’t just coming to see a boxing show; you’re coming to the ‘Adrien Broner Show.’ It is going to be fun. It is going to be entertaining. There are going to be a lot of smiles. Some might cry, but at the end, they will laugh about it. I want everybody to come out and have a good time.”
DeMarco, 26, is no pushover. He won his title by rallying to stop a favored Jorge Linares in the 11th round of the brutal fight in October 2011. He followed with knockouts of Miguel Roman and John Molina.
“Whoever wins this fight will have many opportunities to further his career,” DeMarco said. “I want those opportunities. I want what every boxer wants, recognition and success.”
Golden Boy Promotions has pledged to donate $2 for every ticket sold and $1,000 for each knockout to Hurricane Sandy relief and the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City. Caesars Atlantic City, Oscar De La Hoya and the Oscar De La Hoya Foundation will match the donations.
In the co-main event, rising heavyweight Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell (25-0, 19 KOs) of Brandywine, Md., faces Johnathon Banks (28-1-1, 18 KOs) from Detroit for Mitchell’s NABO and the vacant WBC International Heavyweight title. Banks replaced the late Emanuel Steward as the trainer for Wladimir Klitschko, who successfully defended his heavyweight titles last week.
“The only thing I had to do was be his trainer,” Banks said. “It didn’t affect me in a bad way. If anything, it motivated me in a way that I’ve never been motivated before.’’