HOLLYWOOD, FL – JUNE 7: Blair Combs punches against Adrien Broner during their … [+]
Adrien Broner’s time as a serious competitor in boxing, and possibly his career in general, is over, and if it isn’t, it probably should be.
On Friday night in Hollywood, Florida, Broner was soundly beaten and fell to Blair Combs, losing a unanimous decision (97-91, 96-93 x2). Adding to the disappointment, the majority of us who watched and scored the fight found it far from the close call the official judges judged.
To say Broner was a mere shadow of his former self would be an understatement. Here is the knockdown, which happened in the second round. Cobb’s clean left hand sent Broner looking to the canvas.
Broner looked terribly slow, flabby and generally out of any reasonable fighting shape – both mentally and physically.
While both men are 34, Cobbs looked younger, faster and more serious about his craft. The game could have been a 10-0 shutout for Cobbs. Being generous, Broner might have won a round of the entire fight.
To Broner’s credit, he still has a solid chin. He soaked up the left hand shots all night, got down just once and finished the fight. We saw Broner survive an even worse loss to Marcos Maidana in 2013 and go far.
Although the loss dropped Broner’s record to 35-5-1, the Cincinnati native never stopped. Cobbs improved to 17-1-1 as he now has two straight wins over former world champions Maurice Hooker and Broner, although both men were clearly past their prime when Cobbs beat them.
It is unclear if Broner will fight again, but assuming there is an offer, he will likely take it as there is still a fleeting interest in his fights. Cobbs did whatever it took to turn this opportunity into another money fight.
If he can get a televised bout or two with big-name fighters, he’ll have maximized his opportunity to turn the Broner fight into multiple paydays. Let’s say you’re looking forward to seeing a more serious game on Saturday afternoon.
In that case, Xander Zayas will have a Top Rank title on the ESPN card when he faces the most formidable challenge of his young career against Patrick Teixeira.
After watching Broner on Friday, I think this fight will represent the other end of the spectrum of a boxer’s career.
