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Lem’s latest: Adrien Broner hints at Sept. 6 return

Fighters Network
10
Jul

Adrien Broner has hinted at a Sept. 6 return on his Twitter account.

“After a long day of hard work, a hot bubble bath is needed #september6 #TheReturnOfAdrienBroner,” the fighter wrote.

Broner, 24, is coming off a unanimous decision over Carlos Molina in his 140-pound debut in May on the undercard of a majority decision by RING welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. over Marcos Maidana.

Broner (28-1, 22 knockouts) had vowed to rebound from what he has called “a minor setback,” that being a unanimous decision loss to Maidana in December during which he was floored once each in the second and eighth rounds.



Asked by the fighter whom he should face next, Broner’s followers mentioned Maidana, Lucas Matthysse, John Molina and Amir Khan. Also the RING junior middleweight champion, Mayweather, 37, has announced a planned Sept. 13 rematch with Maidana.

Broner jumped two weight classes from 135 to face Maidana after already having earned title belts over three weight classes. Broner took the WBO’s junior lightweight belt by third round knockout over Vicente Martin Rodriguez in November 2011 and the WBC’s lightweight title following an eighth round stoppage of Antonio DeMarco in November 2012.

In June 2013, Broner rose to his 147-pound debut for a split decision victory that dethroned Paulie Malignaggi for the division’s WBA’s belt.

 

MATT SKELTON SAYS ANTHONY JOSHUA COULD BE ANOTHER AUDLEY HARRISON

Heavyweight Matt Skelton has warned 2012 Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua for an upset in Saturday’s scheduled bout at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, hinting that Joshua could wind up being a journeyman similar to southpaw 2000 Olympic gold medalist Audley Harrison, who never has won a title and has been stopped twice.

Harrison, 32, was 18-0 with 14 knockouts before losing back-to-back fights against Danny Williams and Dominick Guinn by split and unanimous decision in December 2005 and April 2006, respectively.

“Anthony Joshua has all the natural attributes of a good heavyweight. He’s in brilliant shape but we saw with Audley Harrison in his early days. He went through 18 fights unbeaten against hand-picked opponents and then he came unstuck,” said Skelton, 47, who is coming off two straight losses, falling to David Price by second round knockout in November 2012 and John McDermott by unanimous decision in his last fight in March of 2013.

“I am not going to Liverpool to lay down and take a paycheck. That’s not in my make-up and I am not all about money. I am always in the gym ticking over and we really didn’t do enough to prepare for the Price fight. I have been training hard and often and I needed a fight. I look back at some of my old fights and I think that if I can produce some of the stuff that I did back then, Anthony will have his hands full.”

At 24, Joshua is young enough to be Skelton’s son.

“I always say this about athletes in any sport: a lot of the time, it is not the ability or the age that stops you from performing but it’s the hunger. When you are young, the hunger is there and you feel like you can take on the world and you have a carefree attitude, that takes you a long way,” said Skelton.

“I am not going to kid myself. They want him to win and they see this as a fight he will win and build upon and they think that if he does beat me, it is a good name on his record. But I am not here to accept that. I just think it is a risky fight for him but heavyweight boxing is a risky business. As we all know, one punch can change everything.”

Joshua-Skelton will support a card featuring light heavyweights-turned-cruiserweights as Tony Bellew meets Julio Cesar Dos Santos and Nathan Cleverly faces Alejandro Valori.

 

UNIMAS TO AIR GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX-SOD KOKIETGYM ON JULY 19

RING junior featherweight champion Gullermo Rigondeaux will face two-time title challenger Sod Kokietgym on July 19 via same-day delay on UniM├ís beginning at 11 p.m. ET/PT from the Venetian Macao’s Cotai Arena in Macao, China, Top Rank Promotions announced on Wednesday.

In his last two fights, the 33-year-old Rigondeaux unanimously decisioned Nonito Donaire to add Donaire’s WBO belt to the WBA title he already owned in April 2013 and shut out former titleholder Joseph Agbeko by 120-to-108 on all three cards in December.

Kokietgym, 37, has suffered losses to Daniel Ponce de Leon in October 2005 and July 2006. Ponce de Leon won the vacant WBO 122-pound title in the first fight by unanimous decision and successfully defended it by 52-second stoppage in the second.

Kokietgym is 36-0-1 since that second loss but has faced marginal opponents in his home country of Thailand during that stretch.

 

VYACHESLAV GLAZKOV FIGHTS DERRIC ROSSY ON AUGUST 9

Heavyweight contender Vyacheslav Glazkov will return to action against journeyman Derric Rossy on August 9 at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pa., as the headliner to an NBC ‘Fight Night’ tripleheader, Main Events announced on Thursday.

A 29-year-old nicknamed “The Czar,” Glazkov is coming off a unanimous decision over Tomasz Adamek in March, representing his third consecutive victory since battling to a draw with Malik Scott in February 2013.

Rossy, 34, ended a two-fight losing streak with a majority decision over Joe Hanks in May.

“I look forward to stepping back in the ring on August 9. I am in the United States preparing for this fight with my new trainer, John David Jackson,” said Glazkov.

“Preparation in Florida is going well and John and I have a good understanding. He is adding some new stuff and I like it. I can’t wait to try new things in the ring.”

Also on the card, 29-year-old light heavyweights Robert Berridge and Vasily Lepikhin, both 29, will fight and heavyweight prospect Joseph Parker, 22, will face an opponent to be determined.

“This card features a bunch of powerful big men, so I expect to see some fireworks at the Sands on August 9,” said Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events. “I’m happy to bring Czar Glazkov back after his impressive performance against Tomasz Adamek in March and to introduce some new faces to the ‘Fight Night’ fans.”

 

DEREK ENNIS RETURNS ON JULY 25

Junior middleweight Derek Ennis (24-4-1, 13 KOs) will step in to face Caleb Truax (23-1-2, 14 KOs) in the co-main event of on July 25 at Chicago’s UIC Pavilion. Truax’s original opponent, Rogelio Medina was forced out by injury.

Presented by Warriors Boxing, 8 Count Productions, Seconds Out Promotions and Marines Promotions, the card also matches welterweight Roberto Garcia (35-3, 23 KOs) against hard-hitting Breidis Prescott (27-5, 20 KOs) the main event.

Scheduled to open the night’s broadcast is a light heavyweight bout between Mike Lee (12-0, 7 KOs) and Paul Gonsalves (7-3, 3 KOs). A Chicago native, Lee is a Notre Dame graduate.

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