How Broner Beat Demarco

Published

12 years ago

November 19, 2012

Lee Wylie

BronerDeMarco Hogan55 It didn’t matter in the slightest that his opponent was supposed to be his most challenging to date. Eight rounds in, the towel was waved and the fight was called off. Antonio DeMarco had just been dismantled in spectacular fashion and Adrien Broner had just shown yet again why he’s considered by many as the next big superstar of boxing.

Here, I’d like to take a look at what led to Adrien Broner being so superior to Antonio DeMarco at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City Saturday night.

Changing the range

Right from the off, it was immediately apparent that in order for the visibly taller Tony DeMarco to be at his most effective, he needed to keep the shorter Adrien Broner at distance and on the end of his longer punches so that his southpaw angles would be at their most operative.

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This is what I’d consider to be a good range for Tony DeMarco to be in -Broner is clearly outside of his contact range but is well inside of DeMarco’s. At this distance, Broner could find himself on the end of DeMarco’s straighter punches and unable to touch him with a counter.

Broner found a way of taking DeMarco’s length away from him and eventually forced an inside fight. First, Broner took DeMarco’s jab away from him.

When one fighter is a southpaw and the other is orthodox, both fighters’ lead hands will be lined up with one each other’s. Right from the opening bell, Broner made a conscious decision to smother DeMarco’s lead hand with his own lead hand, nullifying DeMarco’s southpaw jab in the process.

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Notice in these photographs how Broner is closing the distance and covering DeMarco’s lead hand with his own lead hand. DeMarco’s best way of establishing his length advantage is by keeping Broner on the end of the jab. Here, Broner has prevented DeMarco from even throwing it.

On the rare occasions when DeMarco did find the room to let his jab go, Broner had it timed and avoided the shot easily, either by blocking it or parrying it.

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Here, Broner stuffs two attempted jabs by DeMarco. The first jab is slapped down by Broner’s lead glove, while the second jab is stopped short because of Broner’s forearm.

With DeMarco’s most significant offensive weapon taken away, Broner set about implementing some offense of his own, again using DeMarco’s lead hand as a bridge.

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Because DeMarco was now familiar with having his lead glove touched and covered often, Broner began to use his lead hand as a feint to disguise his follow up shots. Here, Broner uses his lead hand cover as a decoy to dip low and land a jab to DeMarco’s body.

In this sequence, Broner uses his lead hand to first cover DeMarco’s lead hand before pulling his arm down and firing a straight right hand inside of DeMarco’s now open guard.

Here, Broner gains outside position with his lead hand. This time he pulls back and lands a jab over the top of DeMarco’s lead hand.

Broner continued to vary his offense in the early rounds, particularly with his jab to the body. Again, because Broner was using DeMarco’s lead hand as a precursor, DeMarco became confused and wasn’t sure what to expect next from Broner. The jab to the body is a great way of causing an opponent to lower their guard slightly in order to compensate. As a result, shots aimed up top became easier to land for Broner.

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Here’s Broner landing his jab to the body. At this stage in the fight, DeMarco had no idea what type of shot was coming next from Broner.

By the middle rounds, Broner had already neutralized DeMarco’s length by taking away his jab. Not only that, but Broner was now starting to take over the fight using his own jab along with unpredictable offense –jabs aimed high and low, straight right hands and left hooks. DeMarco’s jab and length, considered to be his best tools before the fight, were now actually working against him. This is where DeMarco decided to change tactics and try his luck on the inside against Broner. This, I believe, would have been part of Broner’s plan; to cast self-doubt upon DeMarco by taking away his jab and forcing him into believing that his best shot at winning would be to work inside. It’s been said here before, Broner is excellent at limiting his opponent’s attacking options by manipulating them into thinking he’s vulnerable in close. Once a fighter is on the inside with Broner, it’s very hard for them to throw anything other than right or left hooks, such is the way that Broner positions his body in relation to his opponent. Broner reads everything at close quarters.

And so, because DeMarco felt that fighting from the outside wasn’t working, he decided to go shoulder to shoulder with Broner. Mission accomplished for “the problem”.

Infighting

Look at the difference in range between the two fighters at the start and the middle of the fight in the two photographs. Regardless of what was happening, standing shoulder to shoulder with Broner clearly wasn’t the way forwards for DeMarco. Notice Broner’s body shape in the second photograph in relation to DeMarco’s –Broner is standing side on with chin behind his lead shoulder, offering little to aim at and is in perfect position to land a right uppercut. DeMarco, on the other hand, is squared up to Broner, his shoulders and feet are parallel and he’s wide open for an uppercut through the centre. In this position, straight punches are pretty much impossible to throw for DeMarco, leaving only wide hooks in close. Broner’s body shape is designed to pick wide shots off at this range.

Once the distance was shortened, the fight became a lot more difficult for the taller fighter and a lot simpler for the shorter, slicker fighter, who is one of the best inside operators in all of boxing. There aren’t many fighters as refined as Adrien Broner inside the pocket. It’s one thing for a fighter to bury his/her head into an opponent’s chest and wail away blindly with rights and lefts, it’s another thing altogether what Adrien Broner does on the inside.

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Here’s Broner using the elbow to push into DeMarco’s chest and create space for himself so that he can land his right uppercut.

Here, Broner uses his lead shoulder to bump DeMarco and create space for his right uppercut to the body.

In this sequence, DeMarco attempts to land a straight left, only for Broner to parry and counter with the same hand. As DeMarco tries to come back with a right/left combo, Broner rolls and catches both shots on his right forearm and and left elbow. Again, once an opponent gets too close to Broner, many of their attacking options are gone.

Broner is also brilliant at controlling his opponent using his non punching hand as he’s punching. Combination punching is considered one of the best forms of offense and is taught in every boxing gym around the world. While Broner is a very good rhythmic combination puncher, I believe he’s an even better puncher when he’s using broken rhythm. Watch Broner throw his punches. You’ll see him punch, hold, maneuver, and then punch again. Combination punching patterns can be taught and memorized. On the other hand, Broner’s intermitting punching style seems like it would be very difficult for an opponent to forecast and defend against.

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Notice here how Broner uses his left glove to push into DeMarco’s face before landing a right uppercut to the body. Broner then holds on to the back of DeMarco’s neck before landing a short left hook just as he’s releasing DeMarco. Grappling and holding is a big part of Broner’s infighting style.

Here’s another example of Broner controlling his opponent on the inside using his grappling ability and non-punching hand. Notice how Broner holds on to DeMarco’s head before landing a right uppercut, followed by a left cross. After landing the cross, Broner holds and fires another right uppercut before grabbing hold of DeMarco’s head again.

Another one of Broner’s inside tricks is to launch a surprise attack immediately after pushing off.

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As Broner pushes DeMarco away, he lands a left uppercut followed by a straight right hand. Broner is excellent at attacking an opponent when they least expect it. DeMarco can’t block Broner’s attack just as he’s being pushed back.

All in all, Tony DeMarco was systematically taken apart by one of the most cerebral practitioners in the game. Broner’s level of craft, and in particular, his level of defense, is clearly world-class. But what I find fascinating is how Broner uses his evasive technique as a way of inflicting violence instead of using it to avoid it. There has been many a defensive technician –Willie Pep, Nicolino Locche, Pernell Whitaker- who’ve used their defensive craft to avoid a fight. Broner is the polar opposite, using his defensive ingenuity to get himself inside and take his opponents out. There’s a mean streak in Broner that is usually missing in other defensive minded fighters.

The closing moments of the fight illustrated this vividly.

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Notice how Broner lands a left hook to the body, then slips a left cross. Because Broner hasn’t used his legs to avoid the attack, he’s in a position to counter. Broner then lands a right uppercut followed by a short left hook. As DeMarco is hurt, Broner brings his attack down stairs, throwing a straight right and a right uppercut to the body. Broner punctuates the fight ending combination with a left uppercut to the head of DeMarco’s. Broner’s precision during this sequence was chilling. It wasn’t so much about the speed and power of each punch as it was delivered, in as much as it was about the placement. Broner sees everything. There’s never any wildness in any of his attacks as he’s very relaxed and very methodical. Not to go overboard here, but Broner’s punch placement kind of reminds me of Archie Moore’s, another fighter who used his defensive wisdom to help secure knockout victories.

Boxing seems easy to Adrien Broner. At this moment in time, I think it’s safe to assume that it’s going to take someone a bit special –and someone probably weighing more than 135 pounds- to defeat Adrien Broner. Even at this early stage in his career, Adrien Broner appears to be the finished article.

I can’t see anyone at 135, or possibly even at 140 solving the problem just yet. Can you?

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Lee Wylie

Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing

Published

2 days ago

January 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Skylar Lacy, a six-foot-seven heavyweight, returns to the ring on Sunday, Feb. 2, opposing Brandon Moore on a card in Flint, Michigan, airing worldwide on DAZN.

As this is being written, the bookmakers hadn’t yet posted a line on the bout, but one couldn’t be accused of false coloring by calling the 10-round contest a 50/50 fight. And if his frustrating history is any guide, Lacy will have another draw appended to his record or come out on the wrong side of a split decision.

This should not be construed as a tip to wager on Moore. “Close fights just don’t seem to go my way,” says the boxer who played alongside future multi-year NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the University of Louisville.

A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Skylar Lacy came up short in his final amateur bout, losing a split decision to future U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards. His last Team Combat League assignment resulted in another loss by split decision and he was held to a draw in both instances when stepping up in class as a pro. “In my mind, I’m still undefeated,” says Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs). “No one has ever kicked my ass.”

Lacy was the B-side in both of those draws, the first coming in a 6-rounder against Top Rank fighter Antonio Mireles on a Top Rank show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the second in an 8-rounder against George Arias, a Lou DiBella fighter on a DiBella-promoted card in Philadelphia.

Lacy had the Mireles fight in hand when he faded in the homestretch. The altitude was a factor. Lake Tahoe, Nevada (officially Stateline) sits 6,225 feet above sea level. The fight with Arias took an opposite tack. Lacy came on strong after a slow start to stave off defeat.

Skylar will be the B-side once again in Michigan. The card’s promoter, former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita, inked Brandon Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) in January. “A capable American heavyweight with charisma, athleticism and skills is rare in today’s day and age. Brandon has got all these ingredients…”, said Salita in the press release announcing the signing. (Salita has an option on Skylar Lacy’s next pro fight in the event that Skylar should win, but the promoter has a larger investment in Moore who was previously signed to Top Rank, a multi-fight deal that evaporated after only one fight.)

Both Lacy and Moore excelled in other sports. The six-foot-six Moore was an outstanding basketball player in high school in Fort Lauderdale and at the NAIA level in college. Lacy was an all-state football lineman in Indiana before going on to the University of Louisville where he started as an offensive guard as a redshirt sophomore, blocking for freshman phenom Lamar Jackson. “Lamar was hard-working and humble,” says Lacy about the player who is now one of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes.

When Lacy committed to Louisville, the head coach was Charlie Strong who went on to become the head coach at the University of Texas. Lacy was never comfortable with Strong’s successor Bobby Petrino and transferred to San Jose State. Having earned his degree in only three years (a BA in communications) he was eligible immediately but never played a down because of injuries.

Returning to Indianapolis where he was raised by his truck dispatcher father, a single parent, Lacy gravitated to Pat McPherson’s IBG (Indy Boxing and Grappling) Gym on the city’s east side where he was the rare college graduate pounding the bags alongside at-risk kids from the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

Lacy built a 12-6 record across his two seasons in Team Combat League while representing the Las Vegas Hustle (2023) and the Boston Butchers (2024).

For the uninitiated, a Team Combat League (TCL) event typically consists of 24 fights, each consisting of one three-minute round. The concept finds no favor with traditionalists, but Lacy is a fan. It’s an incentive for professional boxers to keep in shape between bouts without disturbing their professional record and, notes Lacy, it’s useful in exposing a competitor to different styles.

“It paid the bills and kept me from just sitting around the house,” says Lacy whose 12-6 record was forged against 13 different opponents.

As a sparring partner, Lacy has shared the ring with some of the top heavyweights of his generation, e.g., Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was one of Fury’s regular sparring partners during the Gypsy King’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. He worked with Joshua at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas and at Ben Davison’s gym in England, helping Joshua prepare for his date in Saudi Arabia with Francis Ngannou and had previously sparred with Ngannou at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Skylar names traveling to new places as one of his hobbies and he got to scratch that itch when he joined Whyte’s camp in Portugal.

As to the hardest puncher he ever faced, he has no hesitation: “Ngannou,” he says. “I negotiated a nice price to spend a week in his camp and the first time he hit me I knew I should have asked for more.”

Lacy is confident that having shared the ring with some of the sport’s elite heavyweights will get him over the hump in what will be his first 10-rounder (Brandon Moore has never had to fight beyond eight rounds, having won his three 10-rounders inside the distance). Lacy vs. Moore is the co-feature to Claressa Shields’ homecoming fight with Danielle Perkins. Shields, basking in the favorable reviews accorded the big-screen biopic based on her first Olympic journey (“The Fire Inside”) will attempt to capture a title in yet another weight class at the expense of the 42-year-old Perkins, a former professional basketball player.

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Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

4 days ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Mizuki-Hiruta-Dominates-in-her-U.S.-Debut-and-Trinidad-Wins-Too-at-Commerce

Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Published

5 days ago

January 16, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Best wishes to the survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires that took place last week and are still ongoing in small locales.

Most of the heavy damage took place in the western part of L.A. near the ocean due to Santa Ana winds. Another very hot spot was in Altadena just north of the Rose Bowl. It was a horrific tragedy.

Hopefully the worst is over.

Pro boxing returns with 360 Boxing Promotions spotlighting East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 KOs) defending a regional featherweight title against Mike Plania (31-4, 18 KOs) on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

“I’m the king of L.A. boxing and I’ll be ready to put on a show headlining again in the main event. This is my year, I’m ready to challenge and defeat any of the featherweight world champions,” said Trinidad.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the Hollywood Night fight card that includes a female world championship fight and other intriguing match-ups.

Tom Loeffler heads 360 Promotions and once again comes full force with a hot prospect in Trinidad. If you’re not familiar with Loeffler’s history of success, he introduced America to Oleksandr Usyk, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and the brothers Wladimir and Vitaly Kltischko.

“We’ve got a wealth of international talent and local favorites to kick off our 2025 in grand style,” said Loeffler.

He knows talent.

Trinidad hails from the Boyle Heights area of East L.A. near the Los Angeles riverbed. Several fighters from the past came from that exact area including the first Golden Boy, Art Aragon.

Aragon was a huge gate attraction during the late 1940s until 1960. He was known as a lady’s man and dated several Hollywood starlets in his time. Though he never won a world title he did fight world champions Carmen Basilio, Jimmy Carter and Lauro Salas. He was more or less the king of the Olympic Auditorium and Los Angeles boxing during his career.

Other famous boxers from the Boyle Heights area were notorious gangster Mickey Cohen and former world champion Joey Olivo.

Can Trinidad reach world title status?

Facing Trinidad will be Filipino fighter Plania who’s knocked off a couple of prospects during his career including Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer and Giovanni Gutierrez. The fighter from General Santos in the Philippines can crack and hold his own in the boxing ring.

It’s a very strong fight card and includes WBO world titlist Mizuki Hiruta of Japan who defends the super flyweight title against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez. It’s a tough matchup for Hiruta who makes her American debut. You can’t miss her with that pink hair and she has all the physical tools to make a splash in this country.

Mizukii Hiruta

Two other female bouts are also planned, including light flyweight banger L.A.’s Gloria Munguilla (6-1) against Coachella’s Brook Sibrian (5-1) in a match set for six rounds. Both are talented fighters. Another female fight includes super featherweights Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco (2-0) versus Lindsey Ellis (2-1) in another six-rounder. Ellis can crack with all her wins coming via knockout. Verduzco is a multi-national titlist as an amateur.

Others scheduled to perform are Ali Akhmedov, Joshua Anton, Adan Palma and more.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Boxing and the Media

The sport of professional boxing is currently in flux. It’s always in flux but no matter what people may say or write, boxing will survive.

Whether you like Jake Paul or not, he proved boxing has worldwide appeal with monstrous success in his last show. He has media companies looking at the numbers and imagining what they can do with the sport.

Sure, UFC is negotiating a massive billion dollar deal with media companies, as is WWE, both are very similar in that they provide combat entertainment. You don’t need to know the champions because they really don’t matter. Its about the attractions.

Boxing is different. The good champions last and build a following that endures even beyond their careers a la Mike Tyson.

MMA can’t provide that longevity, but it does provide entertainment.

Currently, there is talk of establishing a boxing league again. It’s been done over and over but we shall see if it sticks this time.

Pro boxing is the true warrior’s path and that means a solo adventure. It’s a one-on-one sport and that appeals to people everywhere. It’s the oldest sport that can be traced to prehistoric times. You don’t need classes in Brazilian Jiujitsu, judo, kick boxing or wrestling. Just show up in a boxing gym and they can put you to work.

It’s a poor person’s path that can lead to better things and most importantly discipline.

Photos credit: Lina Baker

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