Cincinnati’s Adrien Broner won a fringe title in technically his fourth weight division with a 12-round technical knockout over Khabib Allakhverdiev in front of 5,932 hometown fans at the U.S. Bank Arena live on Showtime. Broner (30-2, 22 KOs) handled the overmatched Allakhverdiev (19-2, 9 KOs), who took Broner’s best shots without going down, but with an in-shape Broner upping the punishment in the last round, referee Harvey Dock decided to mercifully wave the fight over at 2:23.
Broner looked sharp in his return to the super lightweight division. He landed 50 percent of his power punches with the right uppercut being his most effective tool.
“Honestly, a young guy like me, they just threw me a lot of cash at a young age. It was hard to adjust to the fame, to the lights. After my last fight I said I wasn’t putting my all into it,” said Broner. “It’s definitely all up to me. After that bell, no one can help me. I’m still AB, but this next half of my career I’m going to be about boxing and about business. Nothing has changed. I’m comfortable at whatever weight my opponent is comfortable at. But I’m getting wiser, I’m getting older.”
“No question Broner won the fight. He is the real thing and tonight he showed it,” said Allakhverdiev’s promoter Vlad Hrunov.
In the opening bout of the telecast, IBF Junior Lightweight World Champion Jose Pedraza (21-0, 12 KOs) stayed undefeated and successfully defended his championship via 12-round split decision over Florida’s Edner Cherry (34-7-2, 19 KOs).
Pedraza prevailed in the closely contested and difficult-to-judge battle by the scores of 117-111 twice and 112-116.
Cherry landed the harder punches and pressed the attack, while the southpaw Pedraza was very elusive and countered well with quick combinations.
“I won the fight. It was a very tight fight and very hard fight, but I definitely won the fight,” said Pedraza. “I was very calm when they were reading the scores because I knew I won. I’m very happy. We did a great job and started strong, but Edner had his moments. With my team, we used our intelligence to get the victory. I was able to change my style, switch to southpaw and Cherry couldn’t handle the left hand.”
Cherry was gracious in defeat saying, “I just left it in the judges’ hands. If I knocked him out it wouldn’t be up to the judges. It’s them. That’s the judges. That’s what happens when you leave it to the judges. I’m not taking anything away from him. It was a good fight.”
Fighting in the main event of the SHOWTIME BOXING on SHO EXTREME®, Toledo, Ohio lightweight Robert Easter Jr. moved his undefeated record to 16-0, 13 KOs with a three-round demolition of Argentinean veteran Juan Ramon Solis (25-10, 9 KOs).
Easter Jr. made it look easy as he dug thudding body shots at Solis and rocked him with hard, accurate shots to the head. Easter threw 177 total punches and landed 68 of them. Solis threw 44 and landed just nine.
By the third round, Solis’ corner had seen enough and requested a stoppage at the 0:45 mark.
“You prepare for the worst in the gym, with these kinds of fights you never know,” said Easter Jr. “With a performance like this, you know you’re onto the next level. I showed that tonight.”
To open the telecast, 2012 U.S. Olympian and undefeated lightweight Jamel Herring (14-0, 8 KOs) went 10 rounds for the first time in his career while scoring a dominant unanimous decision over durable Ghanaian Yakubu “Black Mamba” Amidu (19-8-2, 19 KOs).
Herring showed his tremendous speed and superior strength while firing rapid-fire combinations to Amidu’s head and body. To his credit, Amidu hung tough for the duration and never stopped trying.
“I knew he was good. I respected what his experience and what he was putting down,” said Herring. “I showed my skill and went the distance with a veteran that had never been down. It’s a blessing to showcase my talent on a world stage. I’ve worked hard to get here and good things come to those who wait.”
The judges’ scores (100-90 twice and 99-91) reflected Herring’s dominance.
In non-televised action, Cincinnati’s Jamontay Clark moved to 7-0, 4 KOs with a brutal two-round stoppage of Hartford’s Joe Wilson Jr. (3-3).
Using an accurate and powerful left hand as his primary weapon, Clark had Wilson down twice in the first and once more to begin the second before the stoppage at 0:28.
