THE RESULT: Blair Cobbs beat Adrien Broner by unanimous decision over 10 rounds. The judges submitted scores of 96-93 (twice) and 97-91, all in Cobbs’ favour. The bout took place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
KEY MOMENTS: After a tentative opener, Cobbs dropped Broner heavily in round two. A straight left caught Adrien as he squared up. Broner tried to spit out the mouthpiece to buy more time, but the referee pushed it straight back in!
RECORDS: Cobbs added a relevant name to his now 17-1-1 (10 KOs) ledger. Broner falls to 35-5-1 (24 KOs).
TALKING POINTS: Before the bout, the two key talking points were whether Cobbs could stay focused and switched on and whether Broner could raise his activity levels.
The likes of Malignaggi, Porter, Maidana, Mikey Garcia and right back to Daniel Ponce de Leon have all troubled Broner with a higher workrate. Cobbs followed that blueprint.
Commentary suggested that between rounds two (the knockdown round) and three, one of Broner’s teeth was swept up off the canvas. Cobbs consistently attacked the body, which was a good strategy considering the amount of weight Broner had shed to make the fight.
QUOTABLE: “This was a four-division world champion, so Blair the Flair can only do his best after a two-year layoff,” yelled Cobbs.
“Look at his neck, his neck is huge. He survived a lot of big blows after getting knocked down. I’ve been waiting for this fight my whole life: Blair the Flair vs. Adrien Broner.”
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: The world is Cobbs’ oyster now that he holds the WBC People’s Championship. On a serious note, while Cobbs did not specify his next moves, he did engage in a rousing speech of encouragement for the fans and viewers who may be struggling in life, each line punctuated by the phrase, “It ain’t over.”
The champions in and around 147 may consider Cobbs a viable future option. Broner, meanwhile, skulked away from the ring following defeat number five and is becoming a less relevant option as his career continues to drift away. Looking slow and heavy, unable to maintain or sustain any attacks, it was a sad parody of a once-entertaining boxer.
SUPPORTING CAST: Michael Hunter re-energised his heavyweight career with a 10-round decision win over a lacklustre Cassius Chaney. Ian Green defeated Roy Barringer over 10 rounds at middleweight.