Larry Brown Sports

This dude Adrien Broner is a real trip. Broner (26-0, 22 KOs) has an upcoming fight with Paulie Malignaggi on June 22 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The two have picked up their media blitz this week in order to promote the big fight. But when it comes to Broner, he will find multiple ways to entertain the masses.

From the same people who brought you the video of Broner paying a woman $200 to cut in line at the DMV comes this video of Broner peeling a layer of skin off his face. It’s clearly a funky substance and not skin, but Broner plays the role so well he makes the video funny. Just his expressions and acting crack me up.

I haven’t decided yet whether Broner will be able to get a knockout, but I do think he’ll win even if he is stepping up in weight to face Malignaggi.

Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley have moved their scheduled fight to October to avoid a conflict with Floyd Mayweather on September 14.

Bob Arum’s Top Rank promotions booked Sept. 14 for the Marquez-Bradley fight even though Mayweather had plans to fight on the same day. Arum said last month that he would move the Marquez-Bradley fight to another date if Mayweather stuck to the September fight date. Mayweather announced on Wednesday that he will face Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 14, so Arum is moving Marquez-Bradley to Oct. 12.

Arum said last month that he was keeping Marquez-Bradley on Sept. 14 in case something happened where Mayweather backed out of the date. Since the middle of September is a big time for Mexicans to fight (Sept. 16 is Mexican Independence Day), Arum wanted to make sure he had that date reserved in case it became available. It was a smart strategy and there was no harm in keeping it just in case.

The fight between Marquez and Bradley will take place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas with Bradley’s WBO welterweight title on the line.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is giving the fans what they want. The undefeated boxer announced on Twitter on Wednesday that he will be fighting Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas.

I chose my opponent for September 14th and it’s Canelo Alvarez. I’m giving the fans what they want. It will be at the MGM Grand.

— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) May 30, 2013

Canelo (42-0-1, 30 KOs) has long been discussed as a potential opponent for Mayweather. Mayweather (44-0, 26 KOs) chose to fight Robert Guerrero earlier this month after deciding between the two. He disposed of Guerrero easily, which led to fans, promoters, and TV execs clamoring for a tougher test for the champion. He’ll get that in Alvarez.

Canelo, like Mayweather, has never lost, though he did fight to a draw in his sixth career fight. The 22-year-old Mexican fighter will be Floyd’s most difficult opponent since Miguel Cotto.

Mayweather has had the September fight date reserved for several months. There were some concerns that he wouldn’t be able to return to the ring in time for the fight after he hurt his hand against Guerrero, but that does not appear to be the case.

The fight will take place at a 152-pound weight limit. Mayweather has mostly fought at the 147-pound limit, though he moved up to 154 for Cotto and Oscar De La Hoya. Canelo fights at 154, and SI’s Chris Mannix says there will not be a limit for Alvarez concerning how much he will be able to weigh after the weigh-in.

De La Hoya, whose Golden Boy Promotions promotes Alvarez, tweeted a picture of Canelo signing the contract:

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Lucas Matthysse cemented himself as one of the most dangerous fighters in boxing with his 3rd-round TKO of Lamont Peterson on Saturday night in Atlantic City.

Matthysse (34-2, 32 KOs) knocked down Peterson once in the second and two more times in the third before the referee called it off to save a woozy Peterson. The Argentine’s first knock down of Peterson (32-2-1, 16 KOs) in the third round was a thing of beauty.

Both fighters were going for a left hook at the same time with around 1:02 left in the round. Matthysse’s shot was more compact, enabling him to land a powerful punch to the face of Peterson, flooring the DC native.

You can see how close the timing was in the image below:

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Adrien Broner has been cultivating a reputation as the next Floyd Mayweather Jr. Based on his appearances and behavior, he’s well on his way to carrying the “Money” torch.

Broner showed up to the Lamont Peterson-Lucas Matthysse fight card in Atlantic City on Saturday iced out with a diamond grill and some diamond stud earrings. Showtime was showing him in the audience to promote his upcoming bout with Paulie Malignaggi on June 22.

Anyone who wears that kind of a grill has to be a big deal, right? I guess that’s the logic behind the look. Dude looks like a member of the Big Tymers.

In previous episodes of Adrien Broner screaming for attention, we shared him faking a marriage proposal after a win, and a video of him offering $200 to cut ahead in line at the DMV. He’s a character.

Here’s another look at the grill below:

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Denis Lebedev (25-2, 19 KOs) was defeated by Guillermo Jones (39-3-2, 31 KOs) by 11th-round KO in their WBA cruiserweight title fight in Crocus City Hall in Moscow on Friday, and it was apparently a pretty ugly show.

ESPN’s Dan Rafael was covering the fight and called it a fight of the year candidate. He says Lebedev suffered a cut above his right eye in the first round and that it became an absolute mess after that. Rafael continued to wonder how Lebedev was able to fight with his eye in such bad shape and why the fight wasn’t stopped.

After seeing the pictures, we’re wondering the same thing.

Despite the bad condition of his eye, Lebedev apparently was still able to hit Jones before going down for good in the 11th.

Here’s what the eye looked like before the 11th round began:

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Canelo Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KOs) vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (44-0, 26 KOs) is the fight fans want to see. Both boxers are undefeated and considered the best in their weight classes. Mayweather beat Robert Guerrero with ease in his fight two weeks ago, so fans want to see him step up the competition. So do his promoters and television partners.

Golden Boy Promotions said that arranging a fight between Mayweather and Alvarez is a No. 1 priority. Golden Boy promotes Alvarez and has promoted Mayweather’s last seven fights on a fight-by-fight basis. However, there was some speculation recently that a weight issue could serve as an impediment to the fight.

Canelo has fought at 154 pounds for his last six fights, while Mayweather has fought at 147 pounds for eight of his last 10 fights (he fought at the 154 limit for the Oscar De La Hoya fight in 2007 and the Miguel Cotto fight last year).

Alvarez’s trainer, Chepo Reynoso, told Boxing Scene that Mayweather wants the fight at 147. Reynoso says there is no way Alvarez drops down to that weight (he hasn’t fought at 147 since March 2010). They proposed a catch weight, but Floyd reportedly is refusing. Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer reportedly says that is not true.

“Whoever is talking, discussing or stating that there is a weight issue regarding a potential Mayweather vs. Canelo fight does not know what they are talking about. This is all bulls—,” Schaefer told Boxing Scene.

Schaefer went on to say false reports like that can ruin fights.

I don’t know that a report like that would ruin the fight, but I don’t think the information is true. We have seen in the past that Floyd is open to moving up in weight for fights. The price has to be right like it was with Cotto and De La Hoya, and Floyd also has to feel like he can win. With Golden Boy and Showtime putting pressure on him, maybe Mayweather will finally agree to fight Canelo. We know they were close to an agreement in the past.