The recent career of former four-division world champion Adrien Broner is one that is going through a new beginning. A beginning that began with his signing with Hall of Fame promoter Don King after a highly publicized split with the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) group of promoters and manager Al Haymon last year, which led to his return to the ring in June of last year with a ten round unanimous decision over Bill Hutchinson. Some might recall in this observer’s coverage of that fight, I stated that the most important thing for Broner would be to stay active if he were to re-emerge among the top contenders if he hoped to get another opportunity at a world championship. Unfortunately for Broner, an injury suffered in training delayed what would have been a relatively quick return earlier this year. Now healed, Broner will return to action on June 7th as he will face Blair Cobbs at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL. A fight that can be seen on combat sports streaming and pay-per-view platform Triller TV (Formerly FITE) on a pay-per-view basis.
Although Bill Hiutchinson put forth a very “Game” performance against Broner in taking him a full ten round distance, it was a case where Hutchinson, who entered the bout having won twenty of his twenty-six professional bouts, with two losses and four draws, was taking a significant step up in caliber of opposition, despite Broner having been out of action for over two years at the time of the bout. While it was expected by some, simply based on the difference in caliber of opposition and overall experience for Broner to win that fight, some might be critical simply because he was unable to finish Hutchinson, who he had in trouble periodically throughout the fight.
This time around, Broner will be facing Blair Cobbs, who has flirted with becoming a top contender in the 147lb. Welterweight division. Cobbs, who will enter the fight with a record of 16-1-1, 10 Knockouts, is coming off of a ten round unanimous decision over former IBF Jr. Welterweight world champion Maurice Hooker in August of last year. The victory for Cobbs not only was a bounce back win for him off of the first defeat of his career, a ninth round knockout loss at the hands of Alexis Roacha in March 2022, but also signaled the end of his relationship with his previous promoter Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. Now with Don King as his promoter, Cobbs is looking to take his career to the next level and the first step in that process will come against Broner.
Cobbs has very quick hands and it will be interesting to see how his hand speed matches up against Broner’s superb defense. The question coming into this fight, much like it was for his fight against Bill Hutchinson last year, will center on what version of Adrien Broner shows up. Broner also has hand speed and punching power when he wants to let his hands go. Although Broner is known as one of the most accurate fighters in the sport in terms of landing his punches, he does have a habit of staying in a defensive shell for lengthy periods of time, which has allowed opponents to gradually outwork him over the course of a fight. Cobbs does have the ability to throw punches in volumes of combinations and it will be interesting to see if the fight plan for him will indeed be to try to keep Broner on the defensive and unable to get his punches off. Although both men are thirty-four years of age, Cobbs does have an advantage in terms of overall activity in recent years. Where Cobbs lacks is in the area of experience and more specifically, experience against top-level opposition. This however, is a different circumstance as compared to Bill Hutchinson, who was completely unknown at the time he fought Broner and Cobbs is a more offensive-minded fighter than Hutchinson proved to be, so it will be interesting to see if Cobbs provides Broner with a test to see how much he has left at this stage in his career.
Recent undisputed world champion Terence Crawford appears to be moving out of the Welterweight division and up to the 154lb. Jr. Middleweight division, there will be room to maneuver among the various contenders and former world champions looking to fight for a Welterweight world championship as the various world titles that Crawford held become vacant. This fight between Adrien Broner and Blair Cobbs will not determine who the next potential champion might be, but what it might determine is who might have the opportunity to move into the discussion of potential contenders looking for a world title fight in the near future. It is thus a high stakes bout for both fighters as each looks to take a step forward in their careers.
“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”
Broner vs. Cobbs takes place on Friday, June 7th at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL. The fight as well as it's undercard can be seen globally on digital combat sports network and pay-per-view platform Triller TV (Formerly FITE) on a pay-per-view basis for $39.99 beginning at 8PM ET/5PM PT.
Triller TV is available on mobile, tablet, and connected streaming devices and Smart TVs. For more information about Triller TV including schedules, list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, and for information on how to download the Triller TV app please visit www.TrillerTV.com. To order this pay-per-view event download the Triller TV app or click here.
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