Ohio natives Adrien Broner and Shawn Porter help usher in Premier Boxing Champions series (photos)
By
Branson Wright, The Plain Dealer
The Plain Dealer on March 06, 2015 at 6:00 AM, updated March 06, 2015 at 6:41 AM
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cincinnati native Adrien Broner and
Northeast Ohio's Shawn Porter will make the first steps to help tilt the landscape of boxing in each of their bouts in consecutive weeks.
Broner (29-1, 22 KO's) will debut the much
hyped Premier Boxing Champions Saturday night on NBC (local Ch. 3, WKYC) in a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight bout against John Molina Jr. (27-4, 22 KOs). Porter (24-1-1, 15 KOs) will face Robert Garcia (36-3, 23 KOs) on March 13 in a welterweight bout on Spike TV.
This is a new series created by boxing advisor Al Haymon, a Cleveland native. The PBC was designed to not only pit the best boxers against each other, but to also have these bouts on free TV and basic cable channels. Haymon has also made deals with NBC Sports, CBS, Bounce TV and Spike TV.
The series will include about 70 fights across the various television platforms in 2015.
Sugar Ray Leonard and Marv Albert will announce the bouts. Al Michaels will serve as host. Laila Ali and B.J. Flores will serve as analysts.
Broner hopes to help put a new face on boxing and make a change in his bad-boy reputation.
"We're bringing the world back to boxing," Broner said. "Everyone doesn't have cable but everyone has a TV. This will bring more viewership and help build the brand. A lot of people probably heard of Adrien Broner, but now they'll really get to see Adrien Broner."
Many fans hope to continue to see Broner's skills inside the ring but not the antics that have been displayed outside of the ring. He's made offensive comments about other boxers and other promoters. Broner has apologized for some of his choice of words and he said he's grown since his boxing debut seven years ago.
"I'm more mature," Broner said. "I don't make the same mistakes that I made when I was younger."
Since losing his WBA welterweight title to
Marcos Maidana two years ago, Broner moved down in weight and has consecutive unanimous decision victories. Broner may return to the welterweight division, especially because of the bigger paydays, but he has some unfinished business.
"I'm very comfortable at this weight," Broner said. "Before I do anything, I want to be champion at 140 pounds. That's the main goal."
The PBC will also help Porter regroup after his first professional loss. Porter lost a majority decision and his IBF welterweight
title to Kell Brook last August.
"This fight is about showing [the fans] that I'm willing to work hard and be the best I can even after losing my last fight," said Porter, a graduate of Stow High School. "I'm looking to prove I'm still one of the best out there."
Proving that against Garcia is a formidable challenge. Garcia has lost only once in his last 23 fights (including a no contest). Garcia has also won eight consecutive fights. He also has experience and a three-inch height advantage over Porter. Garcia's forward style will also produce some adjustments for Porter.
"We're going to add a little more quickness and a little more boxing ability as opposed to the aggression you saw in my past few fights," Porter said. "Garcia comes forward and take shots. We're prepared to not only give him the quick shots but sit down and deliver some heavy blows to make him stop coming."
The switch to more of a boxer than a slugger is not new for Porter. He was in boxing mode as an amateur and he's shown boxing skills especially early in his pro career.
"With the quick knockout against [Paulie Malignaggi] and the brawling against Kell, people forget that my jab is fast and long and I can box from the outside," Porter said. "What makes this fight so intriguing is because I'm coming in with both boxing and punching ability, and then you have a guy who's hard-nosed and is very aggressive."
Meanwhile, the only thing that separates Broner and Porter from fighting each other is distance (Cincinnati and Cleveland) and seven pounds between the two weight classes. A battle of Ohio between the fighters appears only natural if they continue to win.
"That would be great for the state," Porter said. "I've heard that a fight between me and Broner should take place at a neutral site, like in Columbus. But I say no. Let's do it where LeBron plays [The Q] and have some fun and do it big."
Broner, who said Cincinnati has better fighters than Cleveland, said Porter doesn't have a big enough name for him to fight.
"The question should be if Porter gets to where I've been, than we'll fight," Broner said. "I hope he does someday and becomes a big-time contender in the sport and we'll make it happen."
http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2015/03/ohio_natives_adrien_broner_and.html
I would have to ride with Showtime Shawn over About Billions for the simple Cleveland/Cincinnati "Battle of Ohio" rivalry if it happens because Im from Cleveland
Cleveland has the better boxers though AB
Shawn Porter, Mickey Bey, Raynell Williams, Terrell Gausha, Willie Nelson Jr., Robert Easter Jr. (Toledo is closer to Cleveland and is NE Ohio... AB
) > Cinci fighters
Yes, AB you're the best of the group....but those 6 are better than any 6 from Cinci. Mark Davis is from Columbus, so he's a toss-up
At the end of the day, we all Ohio though
#OhioPlayas