by Dennis Principe
If there is one person who knows how to prepare a fighter against American multi-division world champion Adrien Broner, it has to be ace trainer Robert Garcia.
This as two of the three losses suffered by Broner were courtesy of boxers under Garcia’s tutelage.
The 43-year-old Garcia, himself a former world champion, led his brother Mikey and Argentine champion Marcos Maidana to convincing wins when both faced Broner in separate fights.
In an overseas call, Garcia said he sees another tough outing for Broner who is set to face Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao less than two weeks from now.
“Broner is very smart but he starts very slow. Thinking too much and not throwing punches is not going to help,” said Garcia “I think Pacquiao is going to throw a lot more punches than him with a lot more combinations. Pacquiao is going to win most of the rounds.”
If ever, Garcia said Broner should get motivation from the fact that he’s been underachieving the last three fights.
After a lackluster split decision win over unheralded Adrian Granados last February 2017, the 29-year-old Broner (33-3-1, 24 knockouts) dropped a decision verdict to Garcia July of 2017 before settling for a draw against Mexican Jessie Vargas April of last year.
“His last fight was a draw. Before that he lost to Mikey so I know he wants to win because he knows that if he loses he’s going to be looking towards the end of his career so I’m sure he’s training hard to win the fight,” said Garcia.
Broner will try to snatch the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight crown currently held by the 40-year-old Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs) when they meet in a 12-round title fight January 20 (Manila Time) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
