by Cliff Rold, photo by Stephanie Trapp

One thing is guaranteed this Saturday on Showtime.

The winner of the main event (9 PM EST/6 PM PST) will be able look across the ring and taunt the loser by saying “Yo (insert winner’s first name spelling), I did it!”

In a vacuum this fight would look like one with an obvious winner. Broner has been better against a wider range of foes. But, because it’s Broner, there is some drama considering the style match. Granados is a strong willed, physical professional who needs this win badly. His upset of undefeated Amir Imam in 2015 suggested he might be the sort of guy who is still leaning on the job.

Broner, who requested an increase in the initial weight limit for this fight from 142 to 147 lbs., isn’t a model for consistent professionalism. Could there be hints here, as there were in retrospect from the weight games prior to his loss to Shawn Porter, that we have a serious scrap?

Let’s go the report card.

The Ledger

Adrien Broner

Age: 27

Title: None

Previous Titles: WBO super featherweight (2012, 1 Defense); WBC lightweight (2012-13, 1 Defense); WBA welterweight (2013); WBA super lightweight (2015)

Height: 5’6  

Weight: 146 ½ lbs.

Hails from: Cincinnati, Ohio

Record: 32-2, 24 KO?

Record in Major Title Fights: 6-1, 5 KO

Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: 7 (Daniel Ponce De Leon UD10; Antonio DeMarco TKO8; Gavin Rees TKO5; Paulie Malignaggi SD12; Marcos Maidana L12; Shawn Porter L12; Khabib Allahkverdiev TKO12)

Vs.

Adrian Granados

Age: 27

Title: None

Previous Titles: None

Height: 5’9  

Weight: 146 ½ lbs.

Hails from: Cicero, Illinois 

Record: 18-4-2, 12 KO

Record in Major Title Fights: No title fights to date

Current/Former World Champions/Titlists Faced: 1 (Kermit Cintron D10)

Grades

Pre-Fight: Speed – Broner A-; Granados B

Pre-Fight: Power – Broner B+; Granados B

Pre-Fight: Defense – Broner B-; Granados C

Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Broner B; Granados B

For all the talk about weight leading up to this fight, it’s probably not that big a factor. Granados is the taller man by at least a couple inches (three officially) and is not stranger to welterweight. He’s fought more of his career at welterweight than Broner has, splitting his time really only as low as one class below.

Broner has had issues with weight, and weight limits, in every class not entirely because of his size. He appeared at the weigh in to be in good shape as did Granados. His advantages are several. Broner is faster, his single show power is a more established factor, and he’s got much more experience.

What Granados brings all about whether he can force Broner to fight on his terms and then succeed if he gets those conditions. That won’t be easy. Even if it gets to a dogfight, at close quarters he could get tagged with short counters.

Broner can sometimes be a hard target though defense is often a liability. He gets hit a lot. So does Granados.  Granados attacks, doing a good job of putting his body into the right hand, but the speed deficit will force him to be disciplined when letting his hands go. He has to catch Broner with something to make him think in the first three rounds and then grind his way into the fight from there. He’s unlikely to be the one winning early rounds.

Is there a real shot? 

The Pick

Having seen the Imam win, there might be some fans that give Granados a shot here. He’s a willful fighter and the sort its easy to root for. It’s probably not a smart bet. If Granados had been more active since the Imam fight, maybe the chances are better but he’s fought only once since November 2015. Broner’s activity isn’t any better through 2016, and he fought longer ago, but Granados has more athletic ground to contend with. The thinking here is that Broner is just too good to lose to Granados. He’s not Imam, a then and still developing light at Jr. welterweight. Broner has been around the title level for several years now and only lost to some very good fighters. Granados is just pretty good, and that will be the difference in a fight where Broner gets to show off his offense. Granados will make a good show of it but in the end, Broner wins. 

Report Card and Staff Picks 2017: 1-3 

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com