By: Sean Crose
Adrien Broner is officially returning to the ring. The fighter known as “The Problem” will be squaring off against Omar Figueroa on August 20th. The scheduled 12 round junior welterweight battle will be held at Hollywood, Florida’s Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and will be aired live on Showtime. Broner last fought in February of 2021 when he bested Javanie Santiago via unanimous decision. It was the man’s first win since 2017. The Problem, however, has never been without skill or talent. His antics in and out of the world of boxing have been infamous but no one can deny that Broner has spent the last decade or so as a fighter of note. The question now is whether or not Broner, who is now in his early thirties, still has what it takes to rise to the top of the rankings.
“I’m going in there to try to stop Figueroa,” Broner claims. “I’m going to take the fight to him and go ahead and get him out of there. What I expect from him is the same gruesome Figueroa that we always see. He’ll try to make it a rough fight. Every fighter is different, but I don’t think he’ll be hard to hit.” Like Broner, Ugas is in need of a career turnaround. The man has recently lost to Abel Ramos and Yordenis Ugas respectively. His last victory was back in 2019.
“I’m excited to move on to the next phase of my life and career, especially now that my mental health is at the forefront of everything I do,” Figueroa says. “Having a clear mind has been the best thing to happen to me. Now I’m able to focus 100% on my boxing career and I can’t wait to be back in the ring on August 20.” This is a true opportunity for both men to reverse course. While Broner wants to get out of a long time career rut, Figueroa is in real need of a simple win. Whoever loses will most likely be written off by fans, obviously never a good thing.
It’s worth remembering that each fighter has had some impressive career highlights. Broner has held world titles in four divisions. No matter how critical one may be, it’s hard not that admit that’s an impressive feat. Figueroa himself is a former world titlist. He won the WBC lightweight title in 2013. Add in the fact that neither of these fighters is exactly over the hill and things look rather interesting.
