The Cauldron of Truth

Sub Lead28-Jul-17by John J. Raspanti

By Allan Cerf

MGarcia vs. ABroner

Background: Boxing is sort of a cauldron when you consider what gets thrown in that sucker: crazy promotions, quirky refs, unfathomable judges, PED’s and most importantly- the boxers. Men and women who after all, throw headshots for a living.

Throw in Adrien Broner and Mikey Garcia and – considering the other ingredients in that witch’s cauldron –what should emerge is objectively, the truth. Will the very talented if somewhat over-hyped Broner prevail, or will KO specialist Garcia? Will Broner, with a brilliant performance, again be regarded as one of the best light-welters in that stacked division, or will Garcia win the lotto with a victory – and enable big paydays vs. the division elite?

The stakes are huge and one of the reasons we watch boxing: A legitimate loss demotes Broner to the status of talented contender; a sort of elite gatekeeper. A loss for Garcia stalls all momentum. And if he’s totally out-classed then the scarlet letters – “limited Mexican slugger,” will follow him around. Forever. Garcia was out of boxing an unbelievable 30 months, fighting and besting veteran promoter Bob Arum.

Contract dispute. It cost him a good portion of his prime and what he thought he’d achieve by this (hugely greater purses?) I can’t say. ONLY in boxing. Adrien Broner acts like Adrien Broner precisely because he wasn’t the second coming of Floyd Mayweather. Can he surmount this to, per the cliché – be the best he can be?

Scorecards: (Speed, Power, Defense, Reach, Age, Stamina, Experience)

Broner: B+ B+ B C+ B B B+ (Average of all) B

Garcia: B- B+ B-C+ B- B B- (Average of all) B-

Reality Check: For me, the fight is Broner’s to lose and he looks, pre-fight, chunky.

Arguably, he should be a 69” reach middleweight. Ouch. Bluntly-it’s the politics of boxing to decide. Is Broner out of favor and Garcia ascendant such that AB cannot win a close fight?

MGarcia vs. ABroner

I like Garcia’s super straight right hand a la Kostya Tszyu. He has the advantage of coming from a boxing family. Significantly though, it wasn’t his life’s dream. I don’t like his mediocre competition and relatively slow hands. Broner is Broner. Quite quick, good power, excellent defense but too few punches. Flashy, a good beard. Plenty of guts. Blessed by "angels" who allow him more holding than the nearest octopus. I appreciate his sudden “adult onset maturity.” AB is a changed man with good brains. Now, use them dude.

Personal: Broner exhaustively covered before. Garcia is the quintessential family man who occasionally races cars – legally. College and police academy degrees.

Fight and Prediction: The smart money says it’s Garcia. Gamblers ain’t doing this for fun, folks. Yet I see Broner as the better fighter, full stop. This must mean: I’m full of crap. The judges have been "conditioned" to favor MG. Broner’s weight is an issue.

Give me Broner via some sort of TKO. Throw in plenty of controversy per normal.