Maidana said he was open to a rematch and Schaefer said it's a possibility. Broner also stopped Eloy Perez in four rounds in a defense, but before a July defense against Vicente Escobedo, Broner failed to make weight and was stripped of his title -- though he still crushed Escobedo the next night in a nontitle fight. Broner closed the show in tremendous fashion, landing 38 of 50 punches in the eighth round.
Schaefer said there was no rematch clause in the contract, but it was such a dramatic fight that a sequel would make sense.
He had already won a vacant title at junior lightweight -- the same division that Mayweather won his first belt in -- last November with a third-round knockout of Vicente Martin Rodriguez. "That was a breakout performance for Adrien," said HBO Sports senior vice president Kery Davis, who has been Broner's biggest supporter at the network that has been televising his fights. "I don't try to knock out people," Broner said. But Broner established himself quickly, and DeMarco was never really in the fight. He's a tall southpaw with a good chin and a never-say-die attitude.
DeMarco continually leaned over, and Broner let the punch rip over and over. Broner, with his Floyd Mayweather-like style, broke down Antonio DeMarco in dominant fashion and stopped him in the eighth round to win a lightweight world title before 4,256 on Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall.
For his part, Broner moved well, and kept his emotions in check, but won only two of the 12 rounds on most press scorecards at ringside. In the fifth round, Broner landed an astonishing 52 of his 78 power shots, according to CompuBox statistics, leaving DeMarco looking discouraged as he went back to his corner after the round ended. But many believed DeMarco would give Broner, who was moving up to lightweight, some trouble. It was simply a matter of time until Broner was going to knock him out, which he did in the eighth round.
There was a crowd of 11,312 at the Alamodome. DeMarco is better than those guys, though, and Broner made beating him look just as easy as those other wins. He snapped DeMarco's head back with a right hand, then did it with a jab. "He was definitely the toughest opponent I have faced," Broner said. Broner was a 5 to 1 betting favorite.
In the second round, a left hook sent Broner down for the first time in his career. Manny Pacquiao, winning at age 40, outworked Adrien Broner on the punch count, coming forward with consistent aggression to land twice as many punches than Broner. DeMarco, 26, of Mexico, was making his third title defense, but none of the opponents he had faced had the combination of power, speed and defense that Broner possesses. Broner (25-0, 21 KOs) took on DeMarco (28-3-1, 21 KOs), widely regarded as the best 135-pounder in the world, and destroyed him to win, at age 23, a world title in his second weight class. "I knew coming into this fight it was going to be a world-class fight, but I knew he didn't have the skills to beat me." "Very few guys could stand up to a guy like that for eight rounds. Broner, of Cincinnati, earned by far his most significant win and has a chance to someday be a major star in boxing.
ID# 455859. This page was last modified on 26 August 2014, at 18:00. After flooring Broner in round eight, Maidana had a point deducted for a headbutt. "Going into the fight, I thought he would struggle with a bigger guy. Broner had a huge fifth round -- so big that it could have been scored 10-8 even though there was no knockdown. If Broner keeps fighting like this, he is going to be a problem for years to come. He hurt DeMarco a few times, cut him up. But Rodriguez was an obscure fighter with no notable wins. He won the first round on all three judges' scorecards, but he was shut out thereafter.
DeMarco had claimed a vacant belt in a memorable comeback victory against Jorge Linares 13 months ago by stopping him in the 11th round. "But I know I have the ability to press him and get the cheese." For whatever reason, DeMarco stood right in front of Broner, who took every opening available.
This page was last modified on 8 February 2014, at 02:18. Broner, of Cincinnati, earned by far his most significant win and has a chance to someday be a major star in boxing. It was a stellar performance from the man who calls himself "The Problem."
Broner is special." "And I did." Obviously, he has punching power. He also snapped DeMarco's head back with clean left hands.
Broner clearly was satisfied with his performance afterward as he strutted around the ring with his new belt wrapped around his body. As referee Benjy Esteves counted, DeMarco's corner threw in the towel and Esteves called off the fight at 1 minute, 49 seconds.