Seedy promoter Frank Warren said on Friday that WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns will certainly throw fists with WBC lightweight titleholder “The Problem” Adrien Broner in the relatively near future.
Broner (25-0, 21 KOs), who is often compared to “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather due to dominating roughly 300 amateur pugilists, has long claimed that Burns (35-2, 10 KOs) avoids him like herpes.
The 23-year-old Broner, a cocky and flamboyant youngster, last fought on November 17 when he badly battered Antonio DeMarco until the tough Mexican’s corner mercifully halted the beating at 1:49 of the eighth round.
Broner, ranked as the number one lightweight in the world by BoxRec and the sixth preeminent pound-for-pound fighter by The Ring, will next scrap Welshman Gavin Rees on February 16 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Comparatively, the 29-year-old Burns, also a past WBO super-featherweight and Commonwealth super featherweight king, most recently exited the squared circle with an impressive fourth round triumph over Brit Kevin Mitchell on September 22.
Burns, a Scotsman widely regarded as a truly upstanding man in a sport loaded with lowlifes, is slated to meet tough Mexican Miguel Vazquez on March 16 at Wembley Arena in London.
"All this nonsense about Burns swerving Cincinnati megaphone Adrien Broner, the WBC champ who now defends against Welshman Gavin Rees in Atlantic City on February 16, makes me laugh," Warren, 60, a Brit who was nearly murdered during an organized hit in November 1989, wrote in the Sun.
"Ricky simply declined that date - not the fight - because he felt he was not given adequate time to prepare correctly, something he rightly never compromises. He intends to beat Broner, not just simply turn up for the dough. That fight will happen, home or abroad, provided both continue to win and I remain confident that my man will be triumphant. Cynics please note that, in his last three gigs, Burns has done a job on world-grade opposition in Michael Katsidis, Paulus Moses and Kevin Mitchell. His competition level far exceeds Broner's.”
Roger “Pit” Perron is a venerable boxing trainer from Brockton (Mass.) who now works with Mike and Rich Cappiello at their gym, Cappiello Brothers Boxing and Training.
“Broner looks like the next great,” said Perron, 76, who worked with Hagler (62-3-2, 52 KOs) at the Petronelli Brothers Gym. “He looks like he’ll become the next superstar as today’s big guns begin fading away.”
Broner will continue proving his abilities by knocking Reese (37-1-1, 18 KOs) onto Queer Street within nine lopsided rounds approximately a month from tonight.
Provided Burns manages to overcome Vazquez (33-3, 13 KOs) in the spring, expect the Scotsman to finally tussle with the “Cincinnati megaphone” sometime in the autumn.
If the bout occurs as planned, the polarizing Adrien Broner will badly overwhelm the likable Ricky Burns in a quick and decisive manner.
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