Broner returns from two-year layoff, edges Santiago for 1st win since 2017

Four-division titlist struggles

Adrien Broner returned from two years out of the ring trying to regain some semblance of the once-dynamic form that made him a four-division world titlist.

That form appears long gone as he struggled to a decision win over the heretofore unknown Jovanie Santiago in a welterweight fight that headlined a Showtime tripleheader Saturday night inside the bubble of the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Broner won 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112, all of which seemed wide considering how few punches he threw of landed. Nonetheless, Broner notched his first win in four years, since a 10-round split decision over Adrian Granados in February 2017.

Following that fight, Broner went 0-2-1 with a decision loss to Mikey Garcia, a draw with Jessie Vargas and a one-sided decision loss challenging Manny Pacquiao for a welterweight belt in his previous fight in January 2019.

Since then, Broner has admitted to a drinking problem, spent time in jail and had financial problems. He lost more around 35 pounds in training camp, but even though the fight was agreed to at 140 pounds, when it was clear he would not be able to make it, the contract was upped to 147 during fight week.

Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs), 31, of Cincinnati, turned in a typically lethargic effort but did come on in the second half of the bout. He landed just 98 of 338 punches (29 percent) and Santiago connected with 207 of 697 (30 percent), according to CompuBox. Broner landed just 35 of 138 punches in the first half of the bout.

Santiago (14-1-1, 10 KOs), 31, of Puerto Rico, held Broner to no connects in the first round and outlanded him in every round except the second, when they each landed six blows. But while Santiago outworked consistently, the punches Broner landed in the second half of the fight were clearer and all three judges gave him rounds 7-10.

“That was cool. I want to go home and really look at my fight. I haven’t fought in two years,” Broner said. “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.

“I really didn’t warm up that much. So later on in the fight, I felt warm so I started picking it up and I felt good. I knew he was going to be tough because he’s 14-0. 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.”

Broner took exception to Showtime unofficial scorer Steve Farhood scoring the fight 114-113 for Santiago and cursed him out on the air during his post-fight interview with Brian Custer.

Broner also said if he could fight more often he would stay out of the trouble he has found himself in regularly, including having pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor sexual assault and unlawful restraint charge stemming from a 2018 incident at a Cleveland night club.

“I want to say to (adviser) Al Haymon and (Showtime Sports president) Stephen Espinoza: Hey, keep me in the ring. If I was fighting on the regular, maybe (Santiago) wouldn’t have lasted. But just keep me in the ring. Maybe we’ll stop fighting cases and maybe we’ll stop getting in trouble.”

He claimed he still plans to return to 140 pounds, where he once held a title – one he lost at the scale for being overweight.

“There is a lot of work out there at 140. Right now we’re going to the drawing board with Al Haymon and 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,” Broner said.

Santiago, who was docked a point by referee Artur Mercante Jr. for landing a punch after the bell ended the fourth round, said the decision did not surprise him.

“Broner did a nice job in there,” he said through a translator. “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.”

Wallin dominates Breazeale

In a fight between heavyweight contenders, Otto Wallin dominated fellow former world title challenger Dominic Breazeale to win a unanimous decision. The judges had it 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112 and 118-110 for Wallin, who won his second fight in a row since a decision loss in a competitive decision loss to lineal champion Tyson Fury in September 2019.

While Wallin (22-1, 14 KOs), 30, a southpaw from Sweden, knocked out Travis Kauffman in August, Breazeale had not fought in 21 months, since being knocked out in the first round by then-world titlist Deontay Wilder. The rust was evident as Breazeale (20-3, 18 KOs), 35, of Eastvale, California, started slowly and never really got into the fight, which was his first after leaving trainer Virgil Hunter to work with Abel Sanchez.

“I think I had an advantage because I fought here before,” Wallin said of fighting in the venue as where he faced Kauffman. “I was more focused this time and I think I came out better than what I did last time. We knew coming in that I had better footwork, better speed so I wanted to use that. And I have good defense too. He hit me here and there but nothing too serious. I said before the fight that I just gotta do what I’m good at and that’s what I tried to do.

“My ultimate goal is to be champion. But I have to keep improving, I’m not there yet. I’ve got a lot of work to do. I’m getting better. I’m not so focused on who I fight, I just want to fight, keep stepping it up and when I get another shot, I’ll be ready for it.”

Wallin landed a powerful left hand in the fifth round that caused swelling over Breazeale’s right eye. Wallin outlanded Breazeale in every round, according to CompuBox. Overall, he landed 232 of 659 punches (35 percent) while the extremely slow Breazeale connected with only 91 of 556 (16 percent).

“I let the early rounds get away from me,” said Breazeale, a two-time world title challenger and 2012 U.S. Olympian. “Otto is a good boxer and did a good job of sticking and moving the whole fight. I did a little bit too much head-hunting at the start and paid for it on the back end.”

Easter outclasses Martin

In the opener of the tripleheader, former lightweight world titlist Robert Easter Jr. dominated Ryan Martin in a one-sided unanimous decision victory in their junior welterweight bout.

Easter gave a spirited effort to win 118-110, 118-110 and 117-111 in his first fight in 16 months. He won his second fight in a row after a decision loss to Mikey Garcia in a 2018 lightweight title unification bout followed by a draw with Rances Barthelemy for a vacant secondary belt with in 2019.

In his second fight since moving up to 140 pounds, Easter was sharp, displayed a steady jab and dictated the fight from the opening bell. According to CompuBox, he landed 161 of 539 punches (30 percent), including 82 of 339 jabs, his key weapon in the fight.

“I was just comfortable,” Easter said. “Once I stay boxing, I get comfortable. I get a little bored but everybody says when I box, when I use my jab, keep my distance, I make the fight that much easier. So that’s what I was working on the whole camp. Me and my dad have been stressing on using the jab, keeping your distance and that’s what we did. I wanted to fight but as you see, when I wanted to fight, I got head butted. So it was best to keep our distance.

“Whoever has those straps, whoever is in the way is going to feel this wrath. There ain’t no particular fighter, I want them all. We’re coming for all those straps.”

Easter (23-1-1, 14 KOs), 30, of Toledo, Ohio, suffered a cut from an accidental head butt in the eighth round, but still dominated the remainder of the fight.

Martin (24-2, 14 KOs), 27, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, came into the fight having won two low-level bouts in a row since getting stopped in the seventh round by Josh Taylor in November 2018 in the World Boxing Super Series and then getting suspended for testing positive for two banned substances in a post-fight drug test.

“I thought I was competitive but obviously I could have done a lot of things better,” Martin said. “I followed him too much and he was able to take away our game plan. He did a great job of keeping me on the outside. There’s not too much to say, he was the better man tonight. His jab didn’t bother me too much but it did keep me from getting on the inside. He never stunned me or affected me with it, but I should have sped up on him a little more.”

Photos: Amanda Westcott/Showtime