By Jake Donovan

CINCINNATI, OH (Sept. 6, 2014) - Adrien Broner and Emmanuel Taylor lived up to their pre-fight promise of beating the crap out of one another. It was enough to make Cincinnati’s biggest boxing star dig deep for his latest victory, scoring a 12-round unanimous decision in an action-filled war Saturday evening at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.

A lively ring entrance by Broner brought the packed house to its feet, but it wasn’t until midway through round four in which he once again gave his hometown fans reason to cheer.

Prior to that point, the night featured everything from the threat of an upset to a need for arrests.

A fight in the crowd at ringside nearly delayed the start of the opening round, with the referee making sure order was kept in the ring before signalling for the bell. Once action began, it was Taylor was primed and ready to go, charging forward and taking full advantage of the shoebox-like 16’ ring.

The visiting fighter’s efforts went largely ignored by many at ringside whose attention shifted to a second fight in the crowd. Once all eyes were on the ring, Broner was forced to give the packed crowd of 8,115 in attendance reason to rally behind him. a clean shave and a promise of better things to come couldn’t help the former three-division champ, as Taylor never slowed in the first two rounds.

Broner slowly began to turn the tide in his favor, beginning with a far more competitive round three. Taylor was still by far the busier fighter, but Broner showed discipline in wisely picking his spots and scoring late in the round.

The good fortunes spilled over into round four, quite possibly one of the best three-minute sequences Broner put together through six years as a pro. The vocal crowd was brought to its feet as the house favorite landed power shots. For the first time in the fight, Taylor didn’t immediately have answers.

At least not until the next round.

Taylor silenced the crowd in round five, catching Broner along the ropes and letting his hands go in full sight of a major upset. The 10-1 underdog continued the attack in round six, burying his shoulder in Broner’s chest and placing punches wherever there was an opening.

Broner braved the onslaught and returned fire, only for his efforts to result in a warning for illegal use of his elbow. Taylor rallied late, with overhand rights bouncing water and sweat off of his opponent’s dome. Broner came back with left hooks to momentarily slow the bum rush as the round came to a close.

As action transitioned into the second half of the contest, Broner found himself in retreat, fending off left hooks and overhand rights. Taylor continued with the formula, with a digging body shot by Broner midway through serving as the lone saving grace of yet another round in which he struggled for answers.

The crowd sensed its hero was in danger, as virtually the entire arena was on its feet at the start of round eight. Chants of “AB” echoed through the venue, but Taylor paid it no mind as he continued his aggressive pace. His attack was slowed only by an incidental foul, when he swung with a left hook after Broner was turned around during a clinch. Taylor was warned for the infraction, with the rest of the round fought on relatively even terms.

Broner hit the body in the ninth, his first time in the fight initiating a sustained attack downstairs. The strategy worked, or at least momentarily threw Taylor off his game as he finally stopped throwing punches. The slowed pace benefited Broner, who took the lead early in the 10th round. Taylor found his mojo late, scoring with a straight right that brought a rise out of his corner.

However, it was the final 10 seconds that reminded the visiting team where they were. A rally by Broner brought the crowd to life, restoring hope that victory was still within reach.

The championship rounds began with a bang. Broner repeatedly landed left hooks to the body, coming back with right hands upstairs. Taylor rode out the storm and connected with right hands along the ropes. Broner was left with a cut over his right eye by round’s end, ruled as the result of a headbutt.

Right hand shots from Taylor had Broner on his heels midway through the 12th and final round. His lip bloodied and on the verge of an upset in the making, Broner dug deep to come through with a game changer. A shoeshine culminated with a corker of a left hook, jarring back Taylor’s head and depositing him on the canvas inside of the final 20 seconds of the fight.

The knockdown didn’t matter in the end at least not as far as the final scorecards went. Tallies of 115-112 and 116-111 (twice) landed in favor of the crowd favorite.

Broner improves to 29-2 (22KOs), picking up his second straight win following a humbling at the hands of Marcos Maidana last December. Taylor loses for the second time in three fights, though valiant in defeat as he falls to 18-3 (12KOs).

FULL CARD:

Adrien Broner UD12 Emmanuel Taylor

Lucas Matthysse KO2 Roberto Ortiz

Andre Berto UD10 Steve Upsher Chambers

Michael Perez UD10 Jared Robinson

Rau'shee Warren UD10 Jose Luis Araiza

Robert Easter KO1 Roberto Acevedo

Terrell Gausha UD6 Juan Carlos Rojas

Raynell Williams UD4 Evan Woolsey

Jamontay Clark KO1 Matt Montalvo

Lamont Roach Jr. MD4 Rocco Espinoza

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox