Adrien ‘The Problem’ Broner weighed in at a trim 146 pounds, while his opponent, Blair ‘The Flair’ Cobbs, came in at 145.6 lbs at Thursday’s weigh-in for their welterweight fight this Friday night at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
This is a 50-50 fight in the eyes of many fans, as Broner’s work rate and skills have deteriorated badly in the last 11 years since 2013, and he’s going up against a guy with a tricky style in Cobbs, who is coming off a win over former light welterweight champion Maurice Hooker.
Broner’s Muted Demeanor
Perhaps stung by the criticism for his hate speech during the final press conference this week, the former four-division world champion Broner (35-4-1, 24 KOs) played it cool today at the weigh-in, staying quiet and not getting out of hand with his trash-talking towards the 34-year-old Clobbs (16-1-1, 10 KOs).
If Broner loses this fight, it will be difficult for him to keep going. He likely won’t retire because he’s not banked a huge nest egg like some of the wealthy fighters. So, ‘The Problem’ Broner will surely fight on, no matter how badly Cobbs beats him.
Broner’s promoter, Don King, believes he can maneuver him to a world title shot, which would be impressive if he can pull that off.
AB hasn’t fought for a world title since his one-sided twelve-round decision defeat against Manny Pacquiao in January 2019 in a failed bid to capture the WBA welterweight belt.
Broner has only fought twice since, beating fringe contender Jovanie Santiago by a controversial 12-round decision in 2021 and then little-known Bill Hutchinson by a ten-round decision in 2023.
Arum’s Uncertainty
“I don’t know. Adrien Broner, at one point, was a really solid fighter and a great, great prospect. I thought he was going to be one of the biggest stars, and then he let his career go down the drain. So, I don’t know what Adrien Broner has left,” said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum to Fighthype when asked to pick a winner in Friday night’s fight between Broner and Blair Cobbs.
“Cobbs, I don’t know what he ever had. So, it’s hard to predict who is going to win that fight,” said Arum.
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