IBR on The Cruelest Sport

“Broner may be too lost in the swirl of his own hype and hype-men to ever learn from, or even acknowledge, his shortcomings. But Broner is unlikely to forget whatever he gleaned from the twelve painful rounds he shared with Maidana. Brought in yet again as a supporting player for another network star, Maidana, like he did to Victor Ortiz in 2009, threw the script in the garbage. Largely dismissive of Maidana in the build up to Saturday night, Broner, Cincinnati, Ohio, assured all that the plodding slugger was not on his level. The stoic Maidana promised only to do his part and to hit his opponent very hard. Which is what he did, for twelve merciless rounds.”

Read A Lesson In Violence: Marcos Maidana W12 Adrien Broner on the Cruelest Sport.

IBR on The Cruelest Sport

“Broner is making his second foray into the welterweight division, having outpointed Paulie Malignaggi in June. To many—including judge Tom Miller, who scored the fight for Malignaggi—Broner struggled in his first performance at 147 pounds. But while Broner never even sniffed danger against Malignaggi—the feather-fisted Brooklynite did little more than dust Broner for prints—he also presented less of it than anticipated. Perhaps Broner overlooked Malignaggi, a fighter long enough in the tooth to expose the root; perhaps the physical advantages Broner used to undo smaller men were mitigated by moving up two divisions. Whatever the reason for the twelve anticlimactic rounds that were Broner-Malignaggi, it was almost certainly not the arrival Showtime and Golden Boy Promotions hoped for. And that makes the selection of Maidana as an opponent interesting. Is Maidana a step up, a step back, or a lateral move? And what does the answer to this question say about Broner’s prospects?”

Read NO RESERVATIONS: Adrien Broner-Marcos Maidana Preview on The Cruelest Sport.

IBR on The Cruelest Sport

It was another masterful performance from Rigondeaux, who won every round on all three scorecards, but failed again to win the applause of people who watch fights to see fights. Rigondeaux, Miami, Florida, is a master of hitting and not getting hit. It is hard to criticize his wizardry considering both the years of work it took to perfect, and the stakes in a sport where trained fighters aim their weapons at each other. But when the crowd wants to hear about the man from Nantucket, you don’t go reciting “Four Quartets.” Rigondeaux has addressed his relationship with the audience before, staunchly refusing to make concessions to satisfy the bloodlust of the paying public. And really, why would he? Despite all the talk of him being unwelcome on HBO airwaves, Rigondeaux was back headlining a show against an opponent who had lost three of his last five fights, and fought just once in the past two years. There are worse ways to make a living, especially for a Cuban defector. Surely Rigondeaux knows this, which might explain why he does little more than what is necessary to notch a win, preserve his health, and line up another easy payday.

Read Emptying Rooms: Guillermo Rigondeaux W12 Joseph Agbeko on The Cruelest Sport.