Broner Makes the Defining Statement of His Career. So Far

by Kieran Mulvaney

Antonio DeMarco, Adrien Broner - Photo Credit: Will Hart

There were those who thought that Antonio DeMarco would, at the very least, ask demanding questions of Adrien Broner in Atlantic City on Saturday night. Not surprisingly, Broner was not one of them. Every time he considered the possible permutations in advance of his challenge for DeMarco’s lightweight title, he said, it just seemed easier and easier.

Such a statement is Broner exemplified: brash and confident to the point of arrogance. But for all Broner’s loud talk outside the ring, the undefeated Cincinnati fighter has thus far been able to more than back up his words with deeds inside the ropes, and he did so again in devastating style against DeMarco, stopping the Mexican in the eighth round and maintaining his seemingly inevitable progression to the very pinnacle of the sport.

After a cautious opening round, Broner began to find the target in the second round with a fast left hook that rapidly marked up DeMarco’s face. DeMarco pressed forward earnestly, but Broner looked effortless and relaxed behind a high shoulder guard, taking his time and gradually beginning the process of picking his man apart.

Read More on HBO.com.

CompuBox Analysis: DeMarco vs. Broner

by CompuBox

In this two-fights-per-year era for those at the highest levels of the sport, it's highly unusual for a titleholder to fight just 69 days after his most recent title defense. Such will be the case for WBC lightweight titlist Antonio DeMarco, but only because he's fresh off scoring the fastest knockout in 135-pound history. His 44-second destruction of John Molina Sept. 8 broke a record that had stood since November 14, 1930 when Tony Canzoneri dethroned Al Singer in just 66 seconds. Interestingly enough, Singer had won his belt four months earlier with his own 106-second blitz over Sammy Mandell.

Don't expect similar fireworks Saturday, for DeMarco's opposition is recent 130-pound titlist Adrien "The Problem" Broner, one of the most charismatic and talented figures on today's boxing landscape and a man capable of delivering quick knockouts as well. Broner is on a four-fight knockout streak over opponents with a combined 111-7-3 record and he hopes to add DeMarco's scalp -- and his second divisional belt -- to his mantle.

Which man will walk out with the belt? Their recent CompuBox stats tell the following tales:

See more Compubox analysis of Antonio DeMarco vs. Adrian Broner on HBO.com.

CompuBox Analysis: Mitchell vs. Banks

by CompuBox

Among American heavyweights Seth Mitchell and Johnathon Banks occupy opposite ends of the scale. The undefeated Mitchell, a onetime football player, brings linebacker aggressiveness and sack-master impact to his game, elements that rate him arguably the most exciting big man in the sport. Conversely Banks is careful, calculating and cautious, throwing precious few punches and lulling everyone to sleep, including stadium crowds who are there to see the Klitschkos perform.

Will Mitchell wake up the echoes of Arturo Gatti at Boardwalk Hall -- known as "The House That Gatti Built" -- or will Banks sing him a lullaby before putting him to sleep? Their CompuBox histories offer these clues:

See more Compubox analysis of Seth Mitchell vs. Johnathon Banks on HBO.com.

Plenty of Questions, No Guarantee of Answers, From Broner and DeMarco

by Kieran Mulvaney

Adrien Broner, Antonio DeMarco

There are, by and large, two schools of thought on Adrien “The Problem” Broner.

One is that he is a fighter of almost limitless potential, possessed of power, speed, and offensive and defensive skill. Exhibit A in support of the contention is his one-round blowout last year of Jason Litzau – who, lest it be forgot, was at the time on an improbable roll following wins over Rocky Juarez and Celestino Caballero.

The other school of thought is a little less effusive.

While not necessarily dismissive of Broner’s talents, the adherents to this second school contend that he is untested, that he has achieved notoriety and fame largely on the basis of blowing out opponents not worthy of a true contender’s resume. On the one occasion he did swap punches with a high-caliber opponent, the argument continues, he escaped with a points win he arguably didn’t deserve against Daniel Ponce De Leon in March 2011. And as for his most recent outing, when he never came close to making weight against Vicente Escobedo – well, that’s the sign of a young man who has rocketed from youth to adulthood without ever stopping to fill up on maturity.

Broner (24-0, 20 KOs) and his team had already elected to move up in weight from the 130-pound weight class in which he had been competing, and his struggles with the scales prior to dispatching Escobedo within five rounds in July only served to affirm that decision. On November 17, in Atlantic City, he takes his bow at lightweight against Antonio DeMarco, a foe even his critics agree could provide a genuine test.

Read More at HBO.com.

Seth Mitchell: The Sensation of Taking a Serious Power Punch

By Kieran Mulvaney

Heavyweight Seth Mitchell (left) absorbs a power shot from opponent Chazz Witherspoon during the Hopkins-Dawson undercard in Atlantic City. Photo Credit: Will Hart

It’s the ultimate gut check, the moment when a boxer takes a punch that temporarily relieves him of his senses and his equilibrium. It is a moment when he stares at the prospect of sudden defeat and career derailment. It can happen to any fighter.

It’s happened even to Floyd Mayweather, who was rocked twice by right hands in the second round of his contest with Shane Mosley two years ago. The crowd at the MGM Grand that night roared itself almost hoarse in anticipation of a sudden, shocking knockout; instead, it was Mosley who failed the gut check, who, when Mayweather found his legs and fired back, tensed up and lost every minute of every subsequent round.

The night-altering power punch happened last week to Seth Mitchell, the undefeated heavyweight prospect who, in the opening stanza of his fight with Chazz Witherspoon in Atlantic City, took one right hand and then another and then another. Somehow, he survived the round, came out firing in the following frame, and dropped and stopped Witherspoon in the third.

“I knew I was hurt,” said Mitchell on Thursday, as he relaxed in the press room at the MGM Grand. “Cognitively I was there. I saw him, and I could see he knew that he had hurt me. So I was like, ‘I see him coming to me. Grab him. Don’t be macho. Grab him.’ But my legs weren’t there. My mind was there. But I had spaghetti legs. Until I saw the fight [on TV] I didn’t realize I was that hurt. When the ref separated us, I did a little wobble. But I never saw triple Chazz Witherspoons or double Chazz Witherspoons. I just wanted to grab him and survive the first round. And once I survived the first round, I knew I couldn’t have another round like that, and I couldn’t stay on the end of his jab.”

The gut check can go one of two ways. Failure to answer – swiftly, and with authority – begs questions that can result in defeat and deflation. But passing the test can elevate a boxer to another level.

“It definitely makes me more confident,” said Mitchell. “At the same time, I don’t want to go through that again. Because it’s scary, man. Not at one time when I was in trouble did I think, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s about to be over. What am I going to do?’ Not one time did I think that. But after the fight was over, all of it hit. ‘Wow, I almost got knocked out in the first round. That would have set me back four or five fights, a year, fifteen months.’ That’s when all of that hit me, and that’s why I got so emotional.”

It is little surprise that Mitchell identifies Miguel Cotto – like the heavyweight contender, a practitioner of the seek-and-destroy style of boxing – as his favorite fighter. But he does not think that the Puerto Rican will have the opportunity to ask the questions of Mayweather that Mosley did, or that Witherspoon asked of him.

“Cotto can crack. And Floyd has shown that he can get hit, but he’s shown that he can come through adversity,” he noted. “In his last couple of fights, he ain’t been moving, he’s been standing right there in the pocket, putting that shoulder up and sharp shooting. He’s a surgeon in there, and we already know he’s got the dog in him. If you want to stand there and bang with him, he can do that too, and he got the best defense out there. So it’s going to be an uphill battle for Miguel Cotto.”