Adrien Broner scored a comfortable win over Gavin Rees at Boardwalk Hall on Sunday night—further consolidating what many had thought to be true.
At 135 pounds, The Problem is simply unbeatable.
There is simply no other fighter in that weight class who can match it with Broner through the rounds and come out on top as the victor—not one.
Rees put up much more of a fight than many were expecting and challenged Broner early with some clean strikes and good contract. But as the fight wore on, it became more and more clear that it was simply boys against men out there, and that Broner would come away as the winner on the night.
Ricky Burns of Scotland is widely considered the only other guy left at 135 pounds who can challenge The Problem, but even then, Broner will still be the favorite. The pair could fight providing Burns beats Miguel Vazquez on March 16.
According to Broner, that fight would only have one outcome—"he would get burned up", via comments he made to ESPN after the fight. And according to the man he just beat—Gavin Rees—that result would seemingly befall any fighter who tried to take on The Problem at 135 pounds.
He hits incredibly hard for a lightweight. I knew he was going to be powerful, but his power really stunned me. Broner is the best I've been in with. He's not a superstar in the making. He's already there. Nobody ever treated me like that in a boxing ring. Best of luck to him in the future. He is going to go a very, very long way.
There is little doubting that Broner is a champion at 135 and seemingly untouchable, and it will likely stay that way until he moves up to 140 or beyond.
ESPN's Dan Rafael writes that "Broner fights in a division with little star power and no big names," and "many have called for him to move up to the talent-rich junior welterweight division, but he has said he isn't quite ready." Until that moment comes when The Problem moves up a division, he will continue to triumph over less-than-quality opponents and dominate the division.
What he won't get, however, is a true test of his ability.
Guys like Danny Garcia, Lucas Matthysse or Brandon Rio will remain nothing but ideal fights unless Broner makes the switch up to the 140-pound mark.
He will never get the chance to test himself against some of the best in the world, let alone defeat them. Which means that, until he abandons the 135 weight class, the world can never know just how good Adrien Broner truly is.
It seems the biggest problem of them all right now is not Broner himself, but rather how his future in the sport should unfold and at what weight it should happen.
He is the undisputed king at 135 pounds, but nothing more than that.
Not yet, anyway.
Do you think Adrien Broner move up from 135 pounds after this fight?
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