Garcia outpoints Broner to remain undefeated
Charlo makes dominant debut as Olympians Warren, Taylor win
NEW YORK, July 30, (AP): Mikey Garcia piled up the punches in another powerful performance, and his career is clearly climbing. Adrien Broner remains stalled. Garcia unanimously outpointed Broner on Saturday night to remain undefeated, a fight that didn’t give him a title but could open more opportunities to fight for another one.
Garcia controlled his first fight at 140 pounds, particularly with body shots he was able to sneak in below Broner’s defense, and won 117-111 on one card and 116-112 on the other two.
A former champion in three lower weight classes, Garcia (37-0, 30 KOs) never seriously hurt Broner but dictated the action for most of the 12 rounds, landing nearly twice as many punches according to post-fights stats.
Broner (33-3, 24 KOs) lost a fight he probably needed to win to prove he is worthy of still being considered one of boxing’s headliners and capable of beating some of the sport’s best. It was better than some of his recent performances, but not good enough against a fighter of Garcia’s caliber, and even he seemed to be talking about his career in the past after the fight.
Broner, who turned 28 on Friday, had won titles in three divisions by 23 and later added a fourth. But losses and lethargic performances even in his wins, along with legal problems outside the ring, stalled his career that once rose so rapidly. Garcia, meanwhile, remains on a roll and continued his dominant run over the last year since returning from a 2-1/2-year layoff while he battled contractual issues. He can now weigh options that could be presented to him in multiple weight classes. He said he’d like to go back to 135 pounds in search of regaining a title, but was open to staying at 140 or even moving up to 147 if the right opportunity was available.
He consistently backed Broner into the ropes and landed hard body shots. Broner repeatedly shook his head that none of them hurt and he fought back well, but they were enough to win the majority of the rounds. Garcia, 29, had stopped 19 of his last 21 opponents. He had to settle for just beating Broner, but perhaps his knockout power will return if he drops back down in weight.
Charlo
Garcia cracked Broner with shots all over in the seventh, his most dominant round of the fight, but Broner actually began to perform better from there.
He scored well to the body in the ninth and had a crowd that was chanting “Mikey! Mikey!” a couple rounds earlier cheering for him. But Garcia went back to work in the 10th with precision punching, pumping his fist as he returned to his corner after the round.
Meanwhile, unbeaten Jermall Charlo made a dominant debut at middleweight, stopping Jorge Sebastian Heiland in the fourth round Saturday night.
Also, three-time US Olympian Rau’shee Warren earned another title shot with a unanimous decision over McJoe Arroyo, and 2012 women’s Olympic gold medalist Katie Taylor of Ireland easily won her US debut on the undercard of the Adrien Broner-Mikey Garcia bout in Brooklyn. Mikey Garcia and Adrien Broner exchange punches during their Junior Welterweight bout on July 29, at the Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (AFP)