By Norm Frauenheim-
Adrien Broner looks at Mikey Garcia and says he see no hints of his past. There’s nothing in Garcia that looks, or fights, or wins like Marcos Maidana, says Broner, who has been trying to resurrect his career ever since a 2013 loss to Maidana.
“He ain’t no effin Maidana,’’ Broner said Thursday at the final news conference before the Showtime telecast of the crossroads confrontation with Garcia Saturday night at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. “He’s nowhere near Maidana.
No, he’s not. He’s better.
The real question is whether Broner (33-2, 24 KOs) is any better than he was against Maidana on that December night in a stunner at San Antonio’s Alamodome. He’ll have to be against Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs), who appears to have all Maidana’s power and is more fundamentally sound than the Argentine ever was.
If anything, the Maidana-Garcia comparison seems to have annoyed, if not rattled, Broner. It’s in his head and probably for good reason. Been there, done that and he definitely doesn’t want to have to endure it all over again. That’s just one compelling stake among many in the junior-welterweight bout (6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET). Beat Garcia, and Broner can finally declare that he’s back, all the way back.
“I don’t think that he’s going to be desperate, but he knows that I’m not an easy opponent,’’ Garcia said during his turn at the speaker’s dais Thursday. “That’s why he’s taken camp so seriously. I expect him to be at his best and be ready. He knows if he beats me he can launch his career back to where it was.’’
On paper at least, Broner appears to have a key advantage. Broner, who lost to Maidana at 147 pounds, is back at 140, a weight at which he has never lost. Still, there are some questions about whether he’ll make weight Friday. If he doesn’t, he pays a $500,000 fine, according to his contract. That’s plenty of motivation, he said.
“I ain’t giving nothing back,’’ Broner said last week during a conference call.
The guess here is that Broner won’t eat any cake before he steps on the scale. His birthday is Friday. He’ll be 28 at opening bell, presumably smarter and better prepared for the tactical savvy possessed by the favored Garcia.
“I’m going to lo look to box effectively and show that I’m the better fighter,’’ said Garcia, whose brother and trainer, Robert Garcia, was in Maidana’s corner. “We’re both smart fighters but neither of us will run from the other. When you have styles like ours, with two guys who like to exchange punches, you’re in for a great battle.
“I think Adrien will be fine with the weight. He’s a pro and he knows that he really has to make weight. He’s learned from his mistakes. Sometimes he jokes around but that’s just part of his character. He takes things a lot more seriously because he’s facing me.’’
Broner is facing somebody who hopes to enhance his pound-for-pound credentials. There’s talk about Garcia in a fight against Terence Crawford and/or Vasyl Lomachenko. Garcia, who has a lightweight belt, has doubts about both. There are differences in weight. Crawford, a 140-pound champion, appears headed for 147. Lomachenko is still at 130. More problematic, both are Top Rank fighters. Garcia left Top Rank in a divorce that kept him out of the ring for more than two years.
For now, Garcia appears more interested in a lightweight unification bout against the Jorge Linares-Luke Campbell winner on Sept. 23 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
“I won’t let Adrien Broner stand in my way,’’ Garcia said. “This is my chance to show the best version of myself.”
A version that won’t look anything like Maidana.
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