Adrien Broner lands another shot at stardom with Mikey Garcia fight

Adrien Broner was once on the verge of boxing superstardom, but run-ins with the law and a lack of dedication to the sport have hindered his progression.

Broner, who turned 28 Friday, is getting another opportunity to prove he’s ready to take his career to the next level. And it could be his last when he faces Mikey Garcia in a junior welterweight showdown Saturday at the Barclays Center in New York.

“I made sure not to cut any corners this camp,” Broner said. “I laugh when people write me off. I’m used to being the underdog coming from where I come from.”

Broner (33-2, 24 knockouts) is a dangerous fighter when he’s motivated, and the betting odds seem to have lit a fire under the former four-division champion. Broner is bothered by being a 5-1 underdog at some sportsbooks when the fight was announced.

“After I make it look easy (against Garcia), I want everyone to write about it and say something good,” Broner said.

Broner does have the size advantage over Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs) and the experience of being in big fights. Bettors have taken notice, with Broner now being a plus-220 underdog, according to VegasInsider.com. Garcia, who has dominated his opponents since returning from a lengthy layoff, is a minus-260 favorite.

“I’m prepared to go 12 hard rounds with Adrien Broner,” Garcia said. “This is a high-profile fight. Probably more than my other fights. It’s created a lot of buzz amongst fans and media. Everyone is anticipating a great fight. This is a great matchup that can take me to the next level.”

The card airs on Showtime at 6 p.m. with the majority of undercard bouts streamed on Showtime’s YouTube channel starting at 2:30 p.m.

PBC sets the trend

Tim Smith, the vice president of communications for Haymon Boxing/Premier Boxing Champions, doesn’t mind seeing competing promoters shifting toward the free television model the PBC started two years ago.

PBC, a Las Vegas-based company, has put on numerous boxing events on network and basic cable television since being founded in 2015.

Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions have since followed that model by striking deals with ESPN.

“Anytime there’s boxing on free television, that’s a good thing because it exposes our sport to a different audience, a bigger audience, a wider audience,” Smith said. “The sport has shrunk and it turned into a premium cable sport, and it shrunk even further by having the big matches on pay per view, and it’s an extra premium people had to pay.”

The PBC went all-in with distributing boxing on free television by putting shows on FOX, NBC, ESPN and CBS. Many have produced high ratings, but a high number of events have flopped.

Smith is baffled by the constant criticism the PBC gets for trying to bring boxing back to the centerfold of mainstream sports.

“Trying to bring it back is a slow process,” Smith said. “The critics can say what they want, but they don’t speak for everyone. I know boxing fans have enjoyed our shows and having boxing made available to them.

“We started a trend and now other people are trying to follow that trend. To me, that’s a good thing, when other people realize that the sport becomes more popular when there’s a wider audience.

“People are used to the sport being a certain way and anything new that comes along they’re unwilling to buy into it. We’re trying to change for the better, and I didn’t see anyone else before (PBC) making an effort.”

Heavyweight rematch

The world heavyweight championship rematch between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko could be headed to Las Vegas.

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn, who promotes Joshua, told Sky Sports that he has Nov. 11 at T-Mobile Arena penciled in for the highly anticipated rematch.

Joshua, the WBA/IBF champion, knocked out Klitschko in the 11th round three months ago in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London. It’s considered the frontrunner for fight of the year.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GManzano24 on Twitter.