Former four-division world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner showed up Saturday scoring a unanimous decision victory over Jovanie Santiago.
.@AdrienBroner gets the victory in his return fight via unanimous decision. #BronerSantiago pic.twitter.com/2aqL9hkpNK
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) February 21, 2021
Broner broke his two year hiatus from the sweet science in the main event of Saturday night’s SHOWTIME Championship Boxing.
The Premier Boxing Champions event was live on SHOWTIME from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend 🍾@AdrienBroner #BronerSantiago pic.twitter.com/LSOJZEWOYX
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) February 21, 2021
Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs), started slowly but used the second half of the fight to surge ahead on the judges’ scorecards. The fight was scored 116-111, 117-110 and 115-112 and all three judges had Broner winning rounds seven through ten.
His last fight was against the legend Manny Pacquiao in January 2019.
AB WINS IN RING RETURN! 🔥
Adrien Broner gets his first W since 2017 by defeating Jovanie Santiago by unanimous decision #BronerSantiago pic.twitter.com/d6c4mwzK1U
— FOX Sports: PBC (@PBConFOX) February 21, 2021
“That was cool,” said Broner. “I want to go home and really look at my fight. I haven’t fought in two years. But I felt good, I felt like I won the fight. I felt like I beat him with the jab, honestly. But it felt good to get my hand raised though.”
The Cincinnati native landed just 35 of 138 punches in the opening six rounds of the fight while the previously undefeated Santiago (14-1-1, 10 KOs) landed 93 of 305 during the same stretch.
Adrien Broner gives amazing interviews pic.twitter.com/qv9Tpwx5fI
— SOUND (@itsavibe) February 21, 2021
At the end of the fourth round, Santiago was deducted a point for a punch that landed after the bell. Over the final six frames, Broner landed 63 of 300 punches while Santiago landed 114 of 392.
Broner was most active in the ninth round when he connected on 14 of 38 punches. Though outworked over the entirety of the fight, Broner landed quality punches over the second half of the bout which earned him the victory.
.@AdrienBroner gets angry at the end of the 7th. #BronerSantiago pic.twitter.com/3d5tnq9Oh9
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) February 21, 2021
“I knew he was going to be tough because he’s 14-0,” added Broner. “And anybody with that ‘0’ wants to keep that ‘0’ so they’re going to fight like a bum fighting for a sandwich. I came in and I got the job done.
“There is a lot of work out there at 140. Right now we’re going to the drawing board with Al Haymon to see what’s best for me. But I’m definitely going back to the gym and I’m looking forward to getting one of those titles this year at 140.”
Adrien Broner put in some work to get ready for Saturday night’s fight. #BronerSantiago pic.twitter.com/OKIiX9R6eh
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) February 19, 2021
However, unofficial scorer Steve Farhood scored the fight 114-113 in favor of the Puerto Rican Santiago, much to the chagrin of Broner.
“F@#$ Steve Farhood, ” said Broner.
Santiago, on the other hand, was not surprised by the judges’ scorecards.
“No, the decision doesn’t surprise me,” he said. “Broner did a nice job in there. The decision could have gone both ways. He fought a great fight. We were in it to win this fight and he got the decision. I think boxing fans know who I am now, but in this fight I should have applied more pressure and the fight would have gone my way.”
