This Saturday night (July 29, 2017) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn will see the Premier Boxing Champions return with a card headlined by a 140-pound showdown between Adrien Broner (33-2) and Mikey Garcia (36-0). The night has 10 fights in all planned for the live event, and the featured bouts are set to air on Showtime in the United States.
Garcia has held world titles in several divisions, most recently at lightweight, but he is moving up to test the waters at 140 pounds for the first time. Despite his reputation for laziness, Broner is a tough challenge for Garcia in his first outing at the weight class. Garcia is a soft-spoken, highly motivated fighter from a boxing family who recently returned to the pro ranks after a two-year layoff. He has returned with a plan, and this move up in weight class is part of it. Garcia will have a height and reach advantage over his stocky opponent, and he will have the confidence that it is the right time for him to move up in weight.
Meanwhile, Broner is looking to answer a lot of questions in his own right here. He has operated in the super lightweight 140-pound class for several years, but he has had trouble making the weight on several different occasions. In the build-up to the fight, it is clear that Broner has some respect for Garcia, and he is at least saying all the right things. Broner always states that he has his sights set on boxing’s top tax bracket, but he has been his own worst enemy at times. A lot is going to depend on which Broner shows up for this one. Few people have the talent to match up with Garcia, but a Broner at the top of his game will definitely make it interesting. It is worth noting that Garcia opened as a nearly -500 favorite a few weeks ago, but during fight week, money appears to have been coming in on Broner with the line tightening.
A second 12-round bout is getting attention at Several Bookmakers, as former super welterweight champion Jermall Charlo (25-0) tests the waters in the 160-pound weight class as he faces veteran Jorge Heiland (29-4-2). Charlo moved up in weight class after making a successful defense of his IBF world title this past December. Charlo has now moved out of the weight class his brother Jermell operates in, and they also recently went their separate ways as far as trainers go. So both men are trying to establish their own identities and move beyond being “The Charlo Brothers.”
Heiland is a workhorse out of Argentina that is on a nice eight-fight winning streak, but he went 5-4-2 from 2010 until 2013, including a failed bid at a world title against Sebastian Zbik. The fact is that Heiland has not fared well against heightened competition, and in Charlo he is getting a fighter who is among the elite. Look for Charlo to challenge the winner of Gennady Golovkin and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez with a victory.
Several of the other bouts on the card may yet warrant attention at Several Bookmakers, especially the heavyweight encounter between undefeated Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller and Gerald Washington (18-1-1).
Barclays Center – Brooklyn, New York – Showtime
Super Lightweight – 12 rounds
Adrien Broner +195
Mikey Garcia -235
Middleweight – 12 rounds
Jorge Sebastian Heiland +1250
Jermall Charlo -2375
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