Adrien Broner hasn’t won a fight in which he came in at the junior welterweight limit of 140 pounds in 7½ years.
The Cincinnati native nevertheless has set a goal for himself to become boxing’s undisputed 140-pound champion. Broner spoke about his ambition during a press conference Tuesday in Deerfield Beach, Florida, where he promoted his pay-per-view fight against huge underdog Bill Hutchinson on June 9 in Miami.
Broner praised the unheralded Hutchinson before revealing his goal of becoming a 140-pound champion again. The 33-year-old Broner once held the WBA’s secondary super lightweight title, but he relinquished it at the scale when he came in overweight for his ninth-round stoppage of Ashley Theophane in April 2016.
“I know this guy that I’m supposed to fight, he ain’t lost in seven years,” Broner said of Hutchinson. “And I’m proud to hear that. But, you know, come June 9th, you know, we got some sh!t in store. And we ain’t looking at him like a steppingstone. But, you know, I set some goals to myself that I can’t let myself down. And what I wanna do is I wanna become world champion again under the Don King, you know, stable.
“So, for me, first I gotta get through Hutchinson. And that’s what I’m gonna do for sure. And then we’re gonna pursue the 140 world titles. And I wanna become the undisputed [champion] at 140 pounds. So, you know, I got big plans and I been working my ass off. And June 9th, I’m gonna put on a show.”
Broner will face Hutchinson in a 10-round bout that’ll be contested at the welterweight maximum of 147 pounds. He hasn’t fought in the 140-pound division since his 12-round, unanimous-decision defeat to Mikey Garcia in July 2017 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The inactive Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs, 1 NC) will end a 27-month layoff when he opposes Pittsburgh’s Hutchinson (20-2-4, 9 KOs). He hasn’t boxed since Broner beat Puerto Rico’s Jovanie Santiago (14-3-1, 10 KOs) unanimously on points in their 12-rounder in February 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Broner, who has won world titles in four weight classes, has competed only twice since his 12-round majority draw with Jessie Vargas in April 2018 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The polarizing Broner was supposed to oppose Omar Figueroa Jr. (28-3-1, 19 KOs) in a “Showtime Championship Boxing” main event August 20 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Broner withdrew five days in advance due to mental health issues.
His February 25 return to the ring ultimately was scrapped because three opponents withdrew for various reasons from what was supposed to be the main event of a BLK Prime pay-per-view event at Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta.
Broner has since signed with the 91-year-old King.
The 34-year-old Hutchinson has won 10 straight bouts, but he’ll take a significant step up in opposition when he boxes Broner. Hutchinson, a practicing attorney, also has been scheduled for the first 10-round fight of his 12-year professional career.
By Keith Idec