By: Hans Themistode
Although the beer belly was gone, the booze bottles were replaced with glasses filled with water and despite replacing constant trips to the club for gym sessions, Adrien Broner simply couldn’t shed the weight.
At no point did Broner (33-4-1, 24 KOs) seem even remotely worried about getting his then rotund body down to the 140-pound weight limit set for his comeback fight against fringe contender Jovanie Santiago at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville Connecticut tomorrow night. According to the former multiple division titlist, he was able to peel off roughly 35 pounds during training.
That number however, simply wasn’t enough.
According to Boxingscene.com, both Broner and Santiago agreed that 140 pounds wasn’t a doable number. Instead, the pair agreed to raise the limit by seven pounds. With Santiago agreeing to step in on only one month’s notice due to Broner’s previous opponent contracting COVID-19, the fringe contender simply didn’t have enough time to meet the previous weight requirements.
Although Santiago’s late start in training afforded him an excuse, Broner was relieved with the news as getting down to 140 pounds was virtually impossible. While the Cincinnati Ohio native assured everyone that he had worked his tail off during the lead-up of their Showtime main event headliner, he simply couldn’t remove those final few pounds.
Still, with the weight issues behind them, the fight will go as planned with no financial repercussions to either fighter.
For Broner, the now 31-year-old will look to kick start his career after momentarily retiring two years ago following a defeat to Manny Pacquiao. A motivated Broner was apoplectic when handed the lopsided loss, claiming he did more than enough to warrant the victory.
The flamboyant star will seemingly receive a soft touch in his return bout against Santiago. Regardless of the spotless record he’ll carry into the ring with him, Santiago (14-0-1, 10 KOs) is a relative unknown. His bout against Broner will be his first contest held in the United States.
Still, even with the gap in both experience and seemingly talent, Santiago has expressed a high level of confidence as he not only holds an unblemished record but he has given his last four opponents an early night at the office, winning all of those contests via stoppage.
