Adrien ‘The Downside’ Broner weighed in at a trim 146 kilos, whereas his opponent, Blair ‘The Aptitude’ Cobbs, got here in at 145.6 lbs at Thursday’s weigh-in for his or her welterweight combat this Friday night time on the Exhausting Rock Resort and On line casino in Hollywood, Florida.
(Photograph credit score: Don King Productions | David Martin Warr)
This can be a 50-50 combat within the eyes of many followers, as Broner’s work price and abilities have deteriorated badly within the final 11 years since 2013, and he’s going up towards a man with a tough fashion in Cobbs, who’s coming off a win over former mild welterweight champion Maurice Hooker.
Broner’s Muted Demeanor
Maybe stung by the criticism for his hate speech in the course of the remaining press convention this week, the previous four-division world champion Broner (35-4-1, 24 KOs) performed it cool in the present day on the weigh-in, staying quiet and never getting out of hand along with his trash-talking in direction of the 34-year-old Clobbs (16-1-1, 10 KOs).
If Broner loses this combat, it is going to be tough for him to maintain going. He probably received’t retire as a result of he’s not banked an enormous nest egg like a number of the rich fighters. So, ‘The Downside’ Broner will certainly combat on, irrespective of how badly Cobbs beats him.
Broner’s promoter, Don King, believes he can maneuver him to a world title shot, which might be spectacular if he can pull that off.
AB hasn’t fought for a world title since his one-sided twelve-round determination defeat towards Manny Pacquiao in January 2019 in a failed bid to seize the WBA welterweight belt.
Broner has solely fought twice since, beating fringe contender Jovanie Santiago by a controversial 12-round determination in 2021 after which little-known Invoice Hutchinson by a ten-round determination in 2023.
Arum’s Uncertainty
“I don’t know. Adrien Broner, at one level, was a extremely stable fighter and an ideal, nice prospect. I assumed he was going to be one of many largest stars, after which he let his profession go down the drain. So, I don’t know what Adrien Broner has left,” mentioned Prime Rank promoter Bob Arum to Fighthype when requested to choose a winner in Friday night time’s combat between Broner and Blair Cobbs.
“Cobbs, I don’t know what he ever had. So, it’s exhausting to foretell who’s going to win that combat,” mentioned Arum.