Adrien Broner stopped Mayweather Promotions British standout Ashley Theophane Friday night by TKO. The stoppage came at 1:10 in the 9th round in front of Mayweather Promotions boss, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. The sold out event of 8,172 showed its support for the renewed resurgence of boxing in the District of Columbia.
Theophane showed his tenacity early but was staggered in rounds 2 and 4. The British fighter made it out of round 5, and although Broner came out strong very early in the round, Theophanes consistency was over-matched by Broners easy mix of finessed offense and defense.
Theophanes left eye began swelling and showing signs of a cut underneath early. His right eye followed suit in the 5th round. Broners accuracy, mix of power shots, uppercuts and stiff jabs had him in full command.
However, before the closing bell of the 7th round, Theophane showed sparks of brilliance, breaking through Broners defense with a persistent combination of hooks to the head and body. His power shots to close the round made Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbee jump to his feet.
Broners uppercuts and left hooks in round 8 didnt faze the still charging Theophane, whose persistence was admirable, even when he seemed to be in trouble on the ropes throughout the fight.
But it was all downhill from there. Early in the 9th Theophanes inability to respond to Broner’s barrage of uppercuts and right hooks left the referee no choice but to finally stop the bout.
“When people fight me, they come with their ‘A’ game, and he came with his ‘A’ game,” said Broner. “But even his ‘A’ game wasn’t enough tonight. As you know, I’ve been going through a lot and for me to come in here and bottle everything up and do what I did, I want to give myself a pat on the back.”
“I thought the stoppage was premature because I thought I was in the fight,” said Theophane. “Me and Broner were going at it. It looked like he was starting to get tired because he started to move around and wasn’t able to stay there with me as much. I thought the fight was back and forth and I think the next four rounds would have been the same. No way should that have gotten stopped. It’s a shame the referee did that. I was telling him ‘I’m okay, I’m okay’ then he waived it off. I don’t know what he was thinking.”
With Theophane’s loss, Mayweathers new challenge in retirement remains to produce a fighter that can produce notable wins for his team.
Broner stated in his post-fight remarks that he is ready to fight Floyd Mayweather, Jr. for the talking his mentor did during the week regarding his recent charges of felony assault and aggravated robbery.
“I’m a man, but at the end of the day, somebody that I look up to, someone that I admire took the chance to do and interview and talk bad about me,” said Broner. “I’m a man – Floyd has got to see me. I come from nothing. I’m talking about water and Cornflakes. And I would never let a man disrespect me like that. So you gotta see me. I don’t care if we’re sparring or if we’re fighting, let’s get it on.
In the co-main event, About Billions Promotions standout Robert Easter, Jr. delivered a win via TKO at 2:43 of round 5. Handily winning all the rounds previously, Easter, Jr. will now look to bigger challenges after a successful PBC debut.
“Two boxers make for a boring fight, said Easter, Jr. I wanted to go in there and brawl, but be smart. I knew when I stepped on the gas I would put him to bed and that’s what I did. He was definitely the toughest opponent I have faced in a shorter fight. He is a former champ and he came in ready.
Baltimore native and Mayweather Promotions rising standout Gervonta Davis also delivered a TKO at :29 of round 6 over Guillermo Avila on the undercard.
