There
was a sequence on Saturday that encapsulated Adrien Broner's
uniqueness in the ring. Not captured on the HBO broadcast, after his pulverizing
fifth-round knockdown of Gavin Rees, Broner
immediately ran across to the other side of the ring. He talked to the camera
and danced; he thought Rees wasn't getting up. At the count of eight, he turned
back to the fight. When Rees was able to continue, Broner seamlessly went back
to work and landed more pulverizing power shots.
Again,
this all happens in a little more than 10 seconds. Broner scores a crushing
knockdown with a left uppercut to the body. Immediately, he starts dancing, bragging to the camera and taking in
the rapt affection from the crowd. He turns around and with no change in his demeanor, he continues his
punishing assault. The fight gets stopped moments later.
To
me, it was stunning. In those brief moments when Rees was sprawled out on the
canvas, Broner didn't care if he got up or not. If he reached his feet, Broner
would just go for the inevitable killshot. If not, the party would just start
earlier. Broner was in his element. He looked as relaxed as a day at the gym
blitzing through sparring partners. The moment didn't get to him, it almost seemed beneath him. This was a 23-year old beating a former world title holder on an HBO main event and Broner swatted Rees away like he was a gnat who happened to interrupt his summer stroll, a speed bump on his way to the freeway.
What
makes Broner particularly interesting is that his theatrics are inseparable
from who he is as a fighter. His dancing, gesturing and fighting all constitute
his entire package in the ring. There is no isolating one from the other. His
flash is essentially ingrained with his performance in the ring. It comes across
like peak Roy Jones but with even less respect for his opponents (if that is
even possible).
Attention-grabbers
are not new in boxing; it’s part of the currency of the sport. There have been
shuckers, jivers, intimidators, protestors, clowns and dancers. But Broner's
activities in the ring are not extracurriculars; they are absolutely central to
his ring identity. He used a bolo punch in the second round not just to
entertain the crowd, but to measure Rees with his right hand, and then crush
him with a power shot. It wasn't a bolo punch like the famous Sugar Ray Leonard shot;
this punch was a deliberate calculation, designed to create a strategic boxing
opening.
Broner
nodded his head all night at Rees' direction. He provided constant non-verbal
communication, shaking it after Rees hit him and moving it more
affirmatively after he landed a solid punch. As he walked Rees down in
the fourth and fifth rounds, he slowly nodded his head, in rhythm, letting Rees
know that the fight was turning. He wasn't nodding once to let
an opponent know he wasn't hurt; his gesturing was constant. It's very much part of who he is as a fighter.
Forget
his rapping during his ring entrances, the lame attempts at humor or the "canned" answers
to interviews. In the ring, Broner is a different animal. There is no switch where he gets down to business. This desire to
entertain, to intimidate and to annihilate is very real. With other fighters, these
"additional" attributes might be perceived as glorified distractions,
but they are absolutely central to the makeup of Adrien Broner.
In
the first two rounds Rees had success with short left hooks to the head and
body and sneaky right hands. Broner mostly covered up and studied his opponent.
It was obvious that he hadn't seen videotape of Rees. Now some fighters
claim that they don't watch their opponents on film (but secretly do); however,
this was an example of Broner literally using the first two rounds like it was
an exhibition season, like the games didn't count yet. This disdain or
ignorance of his opponent wasn't some guise or affectation. It wasn't an exercise
in playing it cool. Broner literally had no idea what he was walking in to, and
he didn't seem to care.
Rees did have a nice game plan to start the fight. He tried to limit
countering opportunities by keeping his punches short and using angles. He
fought valiantly and kept firing back his best punches, even as Broner started
to pile on serious leather. Ultimately, he couldn't hurt Broner and the gap in hand speed and power was too much for him to overcome.
Still, Rees had a great moment in the second. After his bolo punch, Broner went in for a clinch. As they separated, Broner had his hands down and Rees crushed him with a left hook that sent Broner's head back. Broner seemed stunned for a second. Even in the fifth, when things weren't going well for Rees, he landed a big right and dropped his hands as if to say, "I'm not intimidated by you." Rees gained a lot of fans on Saturday with his guts, spunk and moxie, but he was outgunned.
Still, Rees had a great moment in the second. After his bolo punch, Broner went in for a clinch. As they separated, Broner had his hands down and Rees crushed him with a left hook that sent Broner's head back. Broner seemed stunned for a second. Even in the fifth, when things weren't going well for Rees, he landed a big right and dropped his hands as if to say, "I'm not intimidated by you." Rees gained a lot of fans on Saturday with his guts, spunk and moxie, but he was outgunned.
Sitting
in the stands of Boardwalk Hall, I started making mental notes of the lead
punches that Broner landed: straight right hand, left hook, right uppercut,
left uppercut, and jab. Again, these were just his lead shots. Broner doesn't
just have all of these weapons, he likes to take them out of their cases and
fire off rounds with them. Unlike many other fighters, who consciously
transition to their secondary and tertiary punches, Broner throws all of his
punches throughout a fight and they flow with an instinctiveness that belies
his 23 years of age. There are no wheels that turn when he throws a combination.
He's not making strategic calculations on the fly. These punches are almost a priori with him. He
throws them because they need to be thrown, and because he can throw them. He doesn't intellectualize boxing, but he seems to have an innate understanding of what he needs to do in the ring.
There
are three things that may give Broner problems as he faces better competition.
First, his willingness to take risks might come back to haunt him. His desire to entertain and mix it up is laudable and wonderful for the fans, but a fighter that gets hit too much
is a vulnerable fighter. It's unclear if Broner's defense has deteriorated or
if he feels that his chin is so strong that he can take whatever comes his way.
Nevertheless, these moments, and others where Broner covers up and leaves his body exposed,
could lead to opportunities for future opponents.
Second,
his wide stance is designed to land power punches; it also creates openings for mobile boxers (think of a guy
like Miguel Vazquez). Broner likes to walk
his opponents down. If his foe isn't in front of him, he'll have to go find
him. Broner is at his best flat-footed, not on the balls of his feet. Mobile guys, especially ones with strong lateral movement,
could give him trouble.
Finally,
his inability to study fighters, or at least have a basic understanding of
their strengths and weaknesses, could be a real problem. Against top
competition, he won't be able to give away two or three rounds with such carelessness.
Certainly he has tremendous boxing skills and he knows how to break down fighters,
but there needs to be a middle ground between where he was on Saturday and
coming into the fight as a genuine student of the game.
Putting aside these questions for another day, Broner looks like a special fighter to me. He has
"it" – that intangible something which is compelling and makes people
want to tune in. "It's" unpredictable and wildly entertaining.
"It" makes people buy tickets and pay per views.
After
the fight, fans in Boardwalk Hall were buzzing like they saw something special,
and they had. Spectators witnessed a young gun with power, hand speed, charisma,
a willingness to take risks and a desire to entertain. The people in that arena
will be coming back for more. Broner's package doesn't just grow on trees and fans realize that. Broner will become a much bigger figure within the sporting world over the next 18
months.
Enjoy
the ride. It should be a lot of fun.
Adam Abramowitz is the head writer and founder of saturdaynightboxing.com.
He is also a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
Contact Adam at saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com
@snboxing on twitter
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