Adrien Broner will face a similar level of opposition in his debut with new promoter Don King as he was supposed to face in his February fight that was canceled.
BoxingScene.com has learned that Broner will battle Bill Hutchinson in the main event of a King pay-per-view show June 9 at Casino Miami. Their 10-round, 147-pound fight, which will take place on a Friday night, will be officially announced Saturday morning at a press conference in Las Vegas.
The 91-year-old King revealed that he signed Broner to a contract last month. Broner had long been affiliated with adviser/manager Al Haymon and the Premier Boxing Champions organization Haymon launched eight years ago.
Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs, 1 NC) was supposed to headline a “Showtime Championship Boxing” tripleheader against Omar Figueroa Jr. (28-3-1, 19 KOs) on August 20 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The Cincinnati native cited mental health issues when he officially withdrew from their main event August 15.
Pittsburgh’s Hutchinson (20-2-4, 9 KOs) has won 10 fights in a row, but against nondescript opposition. Until now, the 34-year-old Hutchinson, who is a practicing attorney, had never been scheduled for more than eight rounds since he made his pro debut in April 2011.
Hutchinson last fought in January 2022, when he out-pointed Rondale Hubbert (15-25-3, 9 KOs, 2 NC) unanimously in a six-rounder at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh.
The 33-year-old Broner was most recently scheduled to top a BLK Prime pay-per-view event February 25 at Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta. That show was scrapped on short notice after Broner’s third scheduled opponent, Michael Williams Jr., suffered a broken jaw while training to box Broner.
Williams (20-1, 13 KOs), of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was a late replacement for Philadelphia’s Hank Lundy (31-13-1, 14 KOs), who stepped in for Broner’s original opponent, Ukraine’s Ivan Redkach (23-6-1, 18 KOs, 1 NC).
Broner, who has won world titles in four weight classes, hasn’t boxed since he defeated Puerto Rico’s Jovanie Santiago (14-3-1, 10 KOs) by unanimous decision in their 12-rounder in February 2021 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The inactive Broner has fought just twice since his 12-round majority draw with Jessie Vargas five years ago today at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.