Adrien Broner vs. Antonio DeMarco
New Jersey may have been hit hard by Hurricane Sandy but come November 17th at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City the hits will be just as hard. That is when Adrien "Da Problem" Broner squares off against lightweight title holder and warrior Antonio DeMarco in a 12 round title fight. This fight will be Broner's first in the lightweight division after moving up from junior lightweight. In his last fight he failed to make weight against Vicente Escobedo and wisely decided it was time to move up. But choosing Antonio DeMarco as your first opponent in a higher weight class is a very dangerous move.
Broner is exceptionally talented both offensivley and defensivley. And aside from Floyd Mayweather has to be considered the best trash talker/self promoter in the sport. Fans either love him or hate him and Broner seems to relish in that fact. At only 23 years old Broner has already fought some good competition in Daniel Ponce de Leon, Eloy Perez, and the afformentioned Vicente Escobedo. His record is unblemished at 24-0 with an amazing 20 knockouts and he fights in an orthodox stance. Broner's hands are lightning fast making it hard for anyone to stop him. He is also very good at rolling his shoulders to partially block punches so he never seems to take an excessive amount of punishment. Broner is already a star and is well on his way to cracking into the top 10 p4p rankings. But this fight against DeMarco will no doubt be the biggest test of his young career.
DeMarco is simply a blood & guts warrior molded after fighters such as the late great Arturo Gatti. He has already been in many wars, specifically his fight against Jorge Linares which ended with both men's faces a bloody mess. That fight along with his bout against the late Edwin Valero have been the biggest fights of his career thus far. His record is a very solid 28-2-1 with an impressive 21 knockouts. The only two loses of his career came against Valero in 2010 and Anthony Vasquez very early in his career back in 2006. He fights in a southpaw stance and can't be described as anything but a pressure fighter. Like most Mexican boxers DeMarco loves to fight. Besides heavy handed Valero, Broner will be the largest threat to DeMarco's title belt.
This should be an all action fight. I would be shocked if this wasn't a great fight. Both men are hungry, DeMarco to keep his title belt and Broner to snatch it away from him. But as we have seen in the past DeMarco won't give his belts up easily and will paint the ring red to keep them in his possesion. The big question is whether Broner will be able to outclass DeMarco as he has done with countless other opponents. Whatever the outcome is fans are sure to be in for a great matchup they won't soon forget.
PREDICTION: Adrien Broner wins via majority decision.
Seth Mitchell vs. Johnathon Banks
Saturday nights first fight will be between heavyweight prospects Seth Mitchell and Johnathon Banks. It will be a 12 round semi-final title eliminator. Each man will look to step closer to a fight all heavyweight boxers want, a fight with either Klitschko brother. For those big time boxing fans who have been calling for the next great American heavyweight Seth Mitchell just might be your man. Both fighters are 30 years of age but are at very different points in their careers. That is mainly due to the fact that Mitchell got into boxing at such a late age.
Mitchell was a former standout football player at Michigan State University where he played middle linebacker. In 2005 he was forced to retire from the sport due to damaged cartilage in his knee. It wasn't until 2006 that Mitchell first stepped into a boxing ring where he had a very brief ten fight amateur career. Then in 2008 he made his professional debut. Since then he has amassed a record of 25-0-1 with 19 knockouts. His two biggest fights have come in his last two bouts against Timur Ibragimov and Chazz Witherspoon, besides them he has no name fighters on his resume. Even though he has only been fighting professionaly for four years his backround as a college football player has helped him adapt quickly, making him a legitimate prospect even at the age of 30. Of all the American heavyweight prospects Mitchell seems to be the most legit. He is big, strong, and athletic and the future looks bright for him.
His opponent on Saturday night Banks was trained by the late great Emanuel Steward and was an assistant trainer under him for heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. In fact after Steward's recent passing Banks took over as head trainer for Klitschko in his fight against Mariusz Wach, a fight in which Klitschko won. Clearly Banks is a highly intelligent fighter in the ring which might pose a problem for Mitchell since his backround in boxing is very limited. Banks record is 28-1-1 with a decent 17 knockouts. The only legit fighter Banks has ever fought was Tomasz Adamek which was Banks' only career loss and took place at cruiserweight. As a heavyweight he has not fought anyone worth noteing. On Saturday night we will see if the duties of training Klitschko along with the passing of his own trainer have taken their toll on Banks, or whether he will rise to the occasion.
Both fighters are in shape and athletic so this should be a pretty good fight. It will mainly be a fight between the ring intelligence of Banks and the raw talent of Mitchell. Expect to see heavy punches and the possibility of both fighter being badly hurt at some point. I would be surpised if this fight were to go the full 12 rounds.
PREDICTION: Seth Mitchell wins by the way of 10th round stoppage.
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