FOUR-DIVISION WORLD CHAMPION ADRIEN BRONER TAKES ON UNDEFEATED THREE-DIVISION CHAMPION MIKEY GARCIA AT 140 POUNDS

Adrien Broner vs. Mikey Garcia

Presented by Premier Boxing Champions

Saturday, July 29 * LIVE on SHOWTIME

NEW YORK (June 1, 2017) – Today, SHOWTIME Sports^® announced a blockbuster matchup between two of boxing’s biggest stars as three-division world champion Mikey Garcia moves up in weight to 140 pounds to face four-division champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner in the main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING^®, Saturday, July 29, live on SHOWTIME.  Adrien Broner vs. Mikey Garcia is presented by Premier Boxing Champions. 

In yet another significant main event matchup on SHOWTIME, these world-class fighters will meet at a critical time in their respective careers.  A three-division world champion at the age of 23, and one of the youngest four-division world champions in boxing history, the flamboyant Broner remains one of the most accomplished and popular athletes – and perhaps the most polarizing – in the sport today.  Among the top 140-pounders in the world, Broner is undefeated at or below 140 pounds with his only two losses coming against welterweight world champions Marcos Maidana and Shawn Porter.  An experienced fighter at just 27 years old, Broner (33-2, 24 KOs) still believes he is the future of the sport and promises to prove it against Garcia on July 29. 

Mikey Garcia, 29 years old and undefeated (36-0, 30 KOs), is a recently crowned lightweight champion on a self-appointed journey to become a household name in the sport of boxing. Garcia will move up in weight for the second time in just three fights to challenge Broner. Garcia represents a boxing family developing legendary status in the modern era of the sport.  He is renowned for his sportsmanship and his commanding presence in the ring, honed by his brother and acclaimed trainer Robert Garcia. Mikey has held world titles at 126, 130 and 135 pounds, but has never fought north of 138. 

Saturday, July 29 will be the 19^th live boxing event on SHOWTIME this year. The main event bout will be a WBC 12-round special attraction. 

“SHOWTIME Sports continues to deliver the most anticipated matchups, the most important events and the most thrilling fights in boxing,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports. “We consistently feature top-rated champions and challengers. The best are fighting the best and the results have been spectacular. Adrien Broner vs. Mikey Garcia is a fight that fight fans have dreamed of—an undefeated, young star facing one of the best 140-pound fighters in the sport, both men in the prime of their respective careers. July 29 promises to be a memorable night in a year already full of memorable boxing events.”

Broner, of Cincinnati, Ohio, has achieved more in his young career than most fighters can hope for in a lifetime.  After earning world titles at 130, 135 and 147 pounds, Broner won a belt in a fourth weight division – 140 pounds – in October 2015 when he defeated Khabib Allakhverdiev via 12^th round stoppage to become the second youngest four-division champion in boxing history at 26 (behind Oscar De La Hoya, 24). As an amateur, Broner compiled a record of 300 wins, 19 losses under the guidance of his trainer Mike Stafford, who has remained in Broner’s corner throughout his entire career. Broner will turn 28 years old on July 28, the day before his bout with Garcia.   

Once considered one of the top young pound-for-pound boxers in the world, Mikey Garcia, of Moreno Valley by way of Oxnard, Calif., returned to the ring after a two-and-half-year layoff in July 2016 without missing a beat. He scored a dominant fifth-round stoppage over former world champion Elio Rojas in his first fight back. Then, Garcia became a three-division champion by beating previously undefeated lightweight world champion Dejan Zlaticanin with a vicious third-round knockout last January. Garcia has stopped 19 of his last 21 opponents including Roman “Rocky” Martinez, Juan Manuel Lopez, Orlando Salido and Bernabe Concepcion.

Broner versus Garcia is a compelling match up for fight fans to take in, and picking a winner extends far beyond the stark contrast in fighting styles and in-ring behavior. Broner personifies the attitude and lifestyle commonly talked about in most of today’s popular rap music, and many of the genre’s artists have accompanied him on several of his ring walks throughout the years. Despite promising both fans and media that he intends to turn over a new leaf prior to each new fight, on many accounts, Broner remains to be one of boxing’s bad boys – he is The Problem.

Garcia goes about his boxing business like the quintessential coach’s son – albeit he’s trained by his older brother. Garcia’s Instagram account regularly features pictures of him and an array of his sports heroes from the ‘Big Three’ of professional sports. If he’s not posing with some Hall of Fame athlete he’s participating in some community event with local kids. Garcia does seamlessly does everything well in boxing, ranging from training camp preparation to his performance in the ring on fight night.

The looming questions in this match-up are obvious. How well does Garcia’s all-around game and power translate to 140 pounds? After experiencing difficulty with being on-weight in his last two fights, can Broner conduct himself like a consummate professional and make the contracted weight? Garcia’s knockout performance against Zlaticanin isn’t likely to be repeated against Broner – not in three rounds. However, how much did Broner’s left hand injury – one that caused Broner’s jab to be used sparingly from round two on – contribute to his split decision victory over a game Adrian Granados at Xavier University’s Cintas Center in February?

Broner’s power above 140 pounds wasn’t game-changing in his bout versus durable veteran Paulie Malignaggi, but he did hurt Maidana late in his first professional loss, and he knocked down Porter with a left hook in the 12th round of their 2015 bout. Will Broner be able to successfully counter Garcia and catch him with the left hook, or his right uppercut he cited as a major weapon in the victory over Granados?

I expect Garcia to apply a more effective and varied kind of pressure than Granados, and for him to consistently outwork Broner in terms of punch output. There’s plenty of time to pick a winner, first I want to see how quiet things stay in the Broner camp up until fight night. Garcia’s mix of talent and determination undoubtedly presents Broner with the slimmest margin of error he’s faced going into a fight. We’ve witnessed AB be and create problems, July 29th we’ll see whether he can be the solution. 

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