Adrien Broner ended a two-plus year layoff with his latest victory and is now ready to end another drought.
The former four-division titlist returned to the ring with a lopsided victory over Bill Hutchinson for his first fight since February 2021. Despite the ten-round bout taking place at welterweight, Broner will set his sights on the 140-pound junior welterweight division, though specifically at the title level.
“Anybody with a title,” Broner insisted of his future options after his first fight with Hall of Fame promoter Don King this past Friday at Casino Miami Jai Alai.
Broner (35-4-1, 24KOs) jumped out to a strong start versus Hutchinson (20-3-4, 9KOs), a Pittsburgh-bred club fighter who now lives and practices law out of Naples, Florida, before he ultimately settled for a landslide decision win. He has now won two straight, with his last loss in January 2019 versus Manny Pacquiao in their WBA ‘Regular’ welterweight title fight.
The last belt that Broner held at any weight was at junior welterweight, when he knocked out Khabib Allakhverdiev in the 12th round of their October 2015 WBA ‘Super’ title fight in his Cincinnati hometown. His reign ended six months later and at the scales when he missed weight ahead of an April 2016 knockout win over Ashley Theophane.
That same belt is the focus of his next targeted fight.
“I see… what’s his name? Romello, Retardo… what’s his name,” Broner mockingly asked, in reference to recently crowned WBA 140-pound titlist Rolando Romero. “Oh Rolly. Shit. I want (Romero), the winner of the Teofimo [Lopez]-Josh Taylor fight (for Taylor’s WBO belt this Saturday in New York City).
“I want all the belts. I don’t just want a Louis belt or a Gucci belt. I want the WBA, the WBO belt. Then the WBC belt and the IBF belt too.”
Romero (15-1, 13KOs) was ordered to next face mandatory challenger Ohara Davies, though his team is more interested in a higher profile fight versus Ryan Garcia (23-1, 19KOs) even if it means vacating the title.
The winner of Taylor-Lopez will represent the division’s most lucrative option.
Neither WBC titlist Regis Prograis (28-1, 24KOs) nor IBF claimant Subriel Matias (19-1, 19KOs) were mentioned by name. Interestingly, King made a point to mention that Broner could be in line for a shot at the WBC title, further alluded to by Prograis on social media after the fight.
Prograis will first defend his title versus Danielito Zorrilla atop a June 17 DAZN event from Smoothie King Center in his New Orleans hometown.
By that point, Broner will have figured to satisfy at least one post-fight urge.
“It was everything I wanted but it wasn’t everything I needed,” Broner said of his most recent win. “Right now, I need some pussy.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox