Boxing: Adrien Broner Finishes Khabib Allakhverdiev in 12th

Adrien Broner became the second youngest boxer in history to win a version of a major world title in his fourth weight class (the youngest being Oscar de la Hoya) on Saturday night. He out-boxed and beat up the tough but grossly overmatched Russian Khabib Allakhverdiev before finally stopping him in the 12th round to capture the vacant WBA junior welterweight title.

Broner was elusive when he needed to and kept Allakhverdiev at bay with a precision jab throughout the contest. Allakhverdiev tried repeatedly to make it a brawl, but the Cincinnati native was too quick and defensive to allow such a thing. Even when Allakhverdiev was successful at getting close enough to land a few punches to the head or body, Broner was quick to counter his foe with either the jab, left hook or right uppercut.

As the rounds wore on, it was evident that Allakhverdiev needed to make a drastic change in order to win. His head trainer John David Jacksonwarned him that he’d stop the fight going into the ninth, but the battered and lacerated Russian rallied in the frame to stay afloat. However, Broner opened up his attack in the final two rounds and rocked his foe a few times.

In the final round, a wicked left hook to the body doubled Allakhverdiev over and once “The Problem” unloaded a barrage of shots to the head, referee Harvey Dock Jr. had seen enough and halted the contest. Allakhverdiev (19-2, 9 KOs) was worn out and battered and gave little resistance as the fight officially ended at 2:23 of the frame. It was the second time in his career that Allakhverdiev came up short in a bid for a world title.

Broner was please with his performance and vowed that he is a changed man inside the ring and out. He’s learned from several mistakes he’s made, he claimed, and he’ll become the Adrien Broner the world expected him to be.

“Honestly, a young guy like me – and they threw me a lot of cash at a young age – it was hard to adjust to the fame and the lights,” he said to Showtime’s Jim Gray after the fight. “After the last fight, I realized I wasn’t putting it all in the ring.

“I knew I needed (change) when I lost to a guy like Shawn Porter,” he continued. “And no disrespect to him because he’s a world-class fighter. But at the end of the day, when Adrien Broner’s on his shit, a fly can’t be around me.”

Broner (31-2, 23 KOs) then called out veteran fighter Ashley Theopane. He said that his “Big Bro” Floyd Mayweather Jr. believes Theopane is the guy Mayweather said he has in his stable who will beat Broner. From there, he called out Theopane (39-6-1, 11 KOs), a man who has never won a world title.

“You put Ashley on one of his private jets, have him come to see me,” Broner said to Mayweather into the camera. “And I bet I bring the girl out of him like Bruce Jenner.”

In the co-featured bout, Puerto Rico’s Jose Pedraza was successful in the first defense of his IBF junior lightweight title in edging Edner Cherry via split decision. Though cherry came on strong in the second half of the bout, Pedraza did enough early on his with jab and body attack to win the fight on two of three official scorecards.

Pedraza (21-0, 12 KOs) was awarded the decision via tallies of 112-116 and 117-111 (twice) to retain the title he won by beating Andrey Klimov in June. It was the second world title shot for Cherry, who fell short both times. He dipped to 34-7-2 with 19 KOs.

Pedraza said he’ll grant Cherry a rematch after Edner waits because he’s the champ. He thought he “definitely” won the fight and said he’s ready to take on the best.

Cherry was disappointed but blamed himself for leaving it in the hands of the judges.

“That’s what happens when you leave it to the judges,” he said. “If I would have knocked him out, I would have won the fight.”