Adrien Broner vs. John Molina

March 7, MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada

TV: NBC

By Peter Lim

Given the styles of the two combatants, the temptation in predicting the outcome here is to look at Marcos Maidana W12 Adrien Broner (December 2013) and John Molina TKO 10 Mickey Bey Jr. (July 2013), since Molina fights a lot like Maidana, and Broner a lot like Bey. But although Molina can crack as hard as Maidana, he is not the educated slugger that is Maidana but more of a seek-and-destroy plodder. Remember, Bey was easily boxing Molina's ears off before he got caught in the tenth round.

All things being equal, the slick technician beats the determined brawler four out of five times in this sport, and that's how this bout will unfold. Still, it will be an entertaining scrap courtesy of Molina's uncompromising do-or-die mentality. Broner (29-1, 22 KOs) will dictate the action with his superior boxing ability and defensive skills but Molina (27-5, 22 KOs) will have his moments when Broner's cockiness gets the better of him. Both fighters might taste the canvass during the course of the fight but have the wherewithal to regroup and recover. At the end of the night, Broner will be declared the winner by close but clear-cut decision.

Afterthoughts

 Broner's aversion to taking risks will not win him any new fans.