Lightweight Bound Adrien Broner Stops Escobedo In Five

By Jake Donovan

With everything that went wrong prior to the opening bell, Adrien Broner needed to deliver big time to take some of the heat off of him following a weekend filled with unprofessional antics that nearly saw his latest HBO appearance scratched from the program.

The unbeaten rising star at least provided that much once the opening bell rang, having his way with Vicente Escobedo en route to a sixth round stoppage Saturday evening at the US Bank Arena in his Cincinnati hometown.

A tactical battle threatened to break out early, with both fighters hesitant to press the action. Broner finally opened up in the second round, scoring with hooks and right hands upstairs.

Escobedo, conceding a considerable amount of natural weight in the ring, turned things around in the third round, easily his best round of the fight. Any thoughts of the Californian joining in on the recent string of massive upsets came to an end the moment round four began. Broner regained the lead and never looked back.

The beginning of the end came midway through the fifth round. Broner already had Escobedo battered and bloodied from earlier punishment. The end wasn’t sudden, but rather a steady pummeling that honestly began at Friday’s weigh-in. As far as the physical part of it, a left hook ignited a fight-ending rally, as Escobedo was trapped along the ropes, spending the right of the fight covered up.

Broner, to his credit, wasted no time in moving in for the kill. With his hometown fans on their feet anticipating a memorable crescendo, Broner delivered, unloading on Escobedo long enough to convince opposing head trainer Joel Diaz to climb on to the ring apron seeking his fighter’s rescue.

The assigned official for the Escobedo corner grabbed the towel from Diaz’ end and waved it in the air in hopes of capturing the attention of referee Gary Rosato. Broner continued on the attack until summoned otherwise, which came when Rosato finally recognized the surrender flag and intervened.

The official time was 2:42 of round five.

Broner advances to 24-0 (20KO) in becoming the first to stop Escobedo, who falls to 26-4 (15KO).

Despite the emphatic victory, it’s impossible to say that Broner’s stock goes up. In fact, his antics throughout the weekend including fight night leave the 22-year old coming across as a pampered brat who just doesn’t get it.

In the lone attempt to justify his lack of professionalism, Broner blamed youth and growing metabolism for growing out of the 130 lb. division sooner than expected. Prior to the fight, he already declared this bout to be his last at the weight, confirming an end to a brief title reign that began last November in the very same venue as Saturday's bout.

Mother Nature helped speed up that battle, when he came in at 133.5 lb. The moment he elected to hydrate himself was enough indication that no attempt would be made to shed the extra poundage. The title was immediately vacated, though still available for Escobedo to win as a reward for his actually making the contracted weight limit.

Reports came out afterward of Broner tweeting pictures of junk food as his guilty pleasure all through fight week. The unbeaten star insists that one thing had nothing to do with another.

“That was tweeted because of a 10-question questionnaire from HBO. Other than that, I tried my hardest to make the weight,” Broner insisted afterward to HBO’s Max Kellerman.

The claim came just after he fooled everyone in the crowd and watching at home into believing he was proposing to his girlfriend. Dropping to bended knee, Broner even swiped at his father to stop brushing his hair, only for his big question… turning out to be a request for his girlfriend to take over the hair care honors.

All of this came about 30 minutes after a ring walk that saw Broner and his team sport “Free Money May” T-shirts, apparently seeking an earlier than expected release for his ring idol Floyd Mayweather Jr, currently in jail as per the terms of a plea agreement over domestic battery charges.

On the opposite side of the class spectrum, Escobedo was ever the professional throughout the weekend. “He backs it up. He talks and he backs it up. I have respect for Adrien Broner,” admits the 30-year old contender, who snaps a four-fight win streak with the setback.

Escobebo had every chance to pull out of the fight, from yesterday’s scale fiasco as well as Broner missing the modified 140 lb. same-day weight limit at the Saturday morning weigh-in. A cancellation appeared to be in the cards until a “confidential agreement” was reached at roughly 5:00PM local (ET) time to proceed as planned. A considerable amount of cash was thrown his way, which will certainly help his recently changed familial situation with a wife and a newborn baby at home.

Given the terms he accepted, excuses would be hard to come by. To his credit, Escobedo made none.

“He felt stronger, but I can’t determine that,” Escobedo admitted, avoiding an alibi of the extra weight benefiting Broner. “I came in the ring determined, but I didn’t do my part. He was the better man tonight. I’ll go back home, spend time with my daughter and my wife and see what’s next.”

The thought of heading home empty handed ultimately reduced Escobedo to fighting back tears. The emotional moment was the cause of “a little bit of everything. I was away from my family and my wife. Just to come all this way and not get a fair fight and I’m a bit emotional. I’m here to fight.”

Broner insists he’s very much here to fight as well, though it definitely won’t happen at the 130 lb. division. While Escobedo remains first in line for another crack at the vacant title, Broner now eyes the 135 lb. division. The list is already being compiled, though when he officially next fights at the weight isn’t immediately known.

“I’m on to the lightweights. (Antonio) DeMarco can get it, (Juan Manuel) Marquez can get it. Brandon Rios, we can meet at a catchweight and you can come get it next.”

Adrien Broner had every chance to 'get it' - a clue as to how his antics helped sour what should've been a hometown celebration. The local fans left home happy that their guy got the win in the ring, although the last 48 hours paint him as anything other than a winner

i like the guys skill....he doesn't need all the antics, unless he's trying to be the "bad guy" that everyone wants to see lose like his pimp daddy money may.

he sounds puerto rican with all that shit talking.

seriously, why does he kiss mayweather's ass so much?

well imitiation is the highest form of flattery, floyd's not a bad role model to have if your a boxer, but yeah broner takes it to another level. I really don't care much about fighter's personalities though, a fighters style/performances are what make me a fan or not, and Broner looked legit last night.

And yet, he STILL hasn't beaten a VALID opponent.

escobedo is probably a top ten guy at lightweight. no one else destroyed him like that. it was a decent win for broner

It was a good win, but I am hoping he doesn't go the way of Pac and Money May - I like all of these fighters and their skill levels, but it really appears to me that they use their star power to maximize their advantages. Broner never intended to make 130 - he made Escobedo believe he would in putting his title on the line. If both just came in as lightweights, I am not sure the outcome is a lot different, but it would have been a more pure contest and I think Broner would deserve more credit. As it is, it made me respect him a lot less.

(07-23-2012 08:33 AM)neil Wrote:  escobedo is probably a top ten guy at lightweight. no one else destroyed him like that. it was a decent win for broner

Its just a proof Broner has power and speed, but Escobedo has never been a particularly tricky guy. Problem is, there aren't too many such boxers right now at 130...or 135.

How about Broner vs Abrl?? Ohh i like that fight, that would really test Broners boxing skills.

why on earth would you want to watch abril again?

tune in to nbc sports to watch tap tap olympic boxing instead...its the same shit, minus the holding and hitting.

i like the boxer vs boxer/puncher matchup, i want to see which one prevails over the other, it's a good fight between two top guys.

so far in the olympics the low level guys haven't been weeded out yet, so i'v e seen a lot of sloppy arm punches, guys with bad posture, clumsy footwork and mediocre accuracy. That sounds right up your ally bud.

I did see a Mexican win though, he brawled with this Indian guy and won!

i'll take clumsy brawlers that fucking show some balls by FIGHTING then a runner cuban/rican that rather keep his pretty smile intact boring the fuck of the audience while tapping his way to a victory.


so, lets compare, you personally, who would you rather watch in his prime?

tyson
mcclellon
julian jackson
chavez
duran
hearns
kostya

or

corey spinks
whitaker
chris byrd
ivan calderon
camacho sr


tell us what's right up your alley, bud.

I'm somewhere in the middle of those two lists. I'll usually take a guy like Abril over a guy like Marcos Maidana though because he's more effective. It depends on the matchup though. You can make money betting on a guy like Abril to win but betting on guys like Maidana will send you to the poor house.

If you had a son that became a pro boxer and he turned out to be a whitaker type fighter...would you like totally disown him or something? Lol.

yes

Whitaker does NOT belong on that list :-)

Just sayin'... that's not a dude that would run. He would stand right in front of you, make you miss, and counter the heck out of you.

maybe it was that bend all the way down until you almost touch the canvas southpaw shit that gets me.

Abril would probably school Broner's silly ass.

i don't want to see broner lose 120-108, i want to see him knocked the fuck out.

you fucking people amaze me.

there isn't really anyone that can knock him out at 135, but there are a couple guys that might outbox him.

140 would be a more competitive division for Broner, a Matthyse fight would be good.

(07-30-2012 05:13 AM)HelicopterSweep Wrote:  there isn't really anyone that can knock him out at 135, but there are a couple guys that might outbox him.

140 would be a more competitive division for Broner, a Matthyse fight would be good.

Matthyse murders him. I don't think even Bronershit is stupid enough to take that fight.:wave

i don't know, i think broner is legit and would tag matthyse pretty good in that fight. I think that's a pretty even matchup honestly.

the guy weighed 130 two fights ago, you already want to send him to 140? let him kick some ass at 135 first.

(07-30-2012 06:43 AM)mexfighter Wrote:  the guy weighed 130 two fights ago, you already want to send him to 140? let him kick some ass at 135 first.

Agreed, you aren't going to gain 10 lbs of muscle in a few months. That takes serious commitment for 9 months to a year, especially when you are already in great shape.