‘The Problem’ returns to Barclays Center

Brash Broner to Headline July 29 Fight Card vs. Unbeaten Garcia

June 14, 2017 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Adrien Broner makes his return to Brooklyn on July 29, when he takes on unbeaten Mikey Garcia in the headline bout at our borough’s home for professional boxing. AP Photo by Isaac Brekken

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The last time Adrien “The Problem” Broner came to Barclays Center, he brought a whirlwind of excitement, trash-talking and ultimately played the role of invading villain to a tee.

More than four years later, the brash but brilliant boxer from Cincinnati is returning to Brooklyn next month for one of the biggest bouts of his career against unbeaten Mikey Garcia in a matchup of pugilists with a combined seven world titles.

“Broner vs. Garcia is one of the year’s biggest matchups in boxing and we anticipate an electric atmosphere at Barclays Center,” Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment CEO Brett Yormark said of the July 29 headliner, which will be televised nationally by SHOWTIME.

“This will be our fourth major card in 2017 as BROOKLYN BOXING continues to deliver dramatic moments, competitive fights and many of the sport’s biggest names to fight fans.”

Broner made headlines across our fair borough back in June of 2013, when he called out Brooklyn’s own Paulie Malignaggi in his own backyard, sending a barrage of not-so-playful jabs at his opponent regarding a shared love interest.

Malignaggi held his own against the then-unbeaten Broner in the ring, narrowly losing his welterweight crown via a controversial split decision that raged on into the post-fight press conference, which nearly erupted into a brawl.

“I’m not saying [the fight] was fixed, but the more politically connected fighter always gets the close decisions,” Malignaggi fumed that night. “I’d like to see just one time where the less politically connected fighter gets the close decision!”

“I took [Malignaggi’s] belt and his girl!” Broner boasted in return, nearly causing a melee in the ring between the hostile camps.

Oddly enough, it was the last time Broner would walk out of the ring with a zero on his record.

He lost his unbeaten status and the welterweight crown six months later to Marcos Maidana in San Antonio, Texas, six months later, ending any talk that he may be the next Floyd Mayweather, his self-described mentor and one-half of the promotional team backing next month’s showdown with Garcia.

Broner rebounded to win all but one of his next seven fights, picking up a pair of world titles along the way to make him the second-youngest boxer in history with four championships in as many weight classes.

At 27 years old with a mark of 33-2, Broner must now take Garcia’s zero if he hopes to walk out of Barclays crowing yet again that he is among the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

His 29-year-old adversary is no stranger to Downtown Brooklyn, having scored a fifth-round TKO of Elio Rojas at Barclays last July before knocking out Dejan Zlaticanin in Las Vegas this past January for the WBC lightweight title, giving him championships at 126, 130 and 135 pounds during his illustrious career.

Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs) and Broner agreed to a catch weight of 140 pounds for this epic battle, which will try to live up to the excitement of the past few Barclays cards, including Keith Thurman vs. Danny Garcia in March and Shawn Porter vs. Andre Berto in April.

Broner has never lost a bout when he enters the ring below 140 pounds, with his only losses to Maidana and Porter coming at higher weights.

Garcia has yet to taste defeat in the squared circle, but will be fighting at the super lightweight limit for the first time, insisting that he will return to the lightweight class following this bout, which was far too lucrative to pass up.

“It’s a big fight,” Garcia recently told BoxingScene.com. “It’s probably gonna be the biggest fight of my career to date.”

Interest for this latest Barclays attraction will likely begin to build in earnest next week, when the boxers make their first comments about the bout during coast-to-coast press conferences.

Thus far, Broner hasn’t made it as personal as he did the last time he fought here in Brooklyn.

“I always want to fight the best,” he said in a recent teleconference. “I know a lot of people are probably counting me out. I just see two fighters that got chips on their shoulders ready to put on a great show of boxing.

“You’ve got two guys in their prime, in their highest level of their career right now who want to fight each other, so let’s do it.”

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Tickets to the event, which is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and DiBella Entertainment, are priced at $950, $750, $350, $300, $250, $150, $75, and $50 (not including applicable fees), and will go on sale on Thursday morning at 10 a.m. ET, and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com, barclayscenter.com or by calling 800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center starting Friday at noon (if tickets are still available). Group discounts are available by calling 844-BKLYN-GP.