We’ve decided to start a new feature for the site here. In case the title didn’t crack the case for you, we are now doing a Fighter of The Month (FOTM) at the end of the month. The title goes to the boxer we believed to have been the most impressive in the previous months action. It will very likely transfer between established star attractions, upcoming prospects and underdog journeymen fighters earning upsets. This months winner is definitely in the upcoming prospects category, but he is certainly well on his way to establishing himself as a must see fighter and big time attraction in the sport. February’s Fighter of The Month? Adrien Broner.
February contained no shortage of interesting fights and impressive wins. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr took another little step towards coming out of his father’s shadow and legitimizing his place as a serious prospect after beating Marco Antonio Rubio in a tough fight to start off HBO’s “Boxing After Dark” season. Preceding the main event Nonito Donaire had his first fight at a higher weight class, defeating a game Wilfredo Vasquez Jr in what was a rugged win for Donaire. That surprised many, including ourselves, as we had predicted Donaire would KO Vasquez to take his first step to dominating a new division. Instead Donaire stuttered and looked to have some adjustments to make in his next fight to get more comfortable in his new divsion. It would certainly appear all those dream fights in Donaire’s new division may be a way off.
On Saturday the 18th, Paul Williams made a much anticipated comeback against Nobuhiro Ishida. It was a chance for Williams to reestablish himself and for Ishida to prove his KO victory over James Kirkland was not simply a fluke. Williams was the one who received exactly what he wanted, exhibiting combination punching and a fluidity in movement which had taken him near the top of his weight class prior to being derailed courtesy of a Sergio Martinez bomb. The much more impressive fight on this night, Tavoris Cloud versus Gabriel Campillo, generated much more controversy and was certainly a much more enthralling bout. Campillo came off the mat twice in the first round to exhibit a fighting spirit too often missing in a lot of fighters nowadays and, by most fans cards, win the bout over Cloud. Unfortunately the judges once again prevented a deserving fighter from claiming a W when they awarded the fight to Cloud. Campillo’s performance on the night made him our runner up for the Fighter of the Month award. Many before the fight were unaware of just how skilled a fighter Campillo was. Now fight fans want to see more and more of him. We can only hope he obliges us.
Earlier on the 18th Vitali Klitschko met Dereck Chisora in Munich, Germany. Unfortunately a better than anticipated performance from Chisora was overshadowed by a post-fight press conference brawl between Chisora and fellow Englishman and loudmouth, David Haye. Chisora’s showdown with Vitali was one of the more interesting fights that either Klitschko has had recently and it was refreshing to see a fighter not afraid to take it too Vitali. At the end of the day the gulf in class was evident though as Vitali easily took a decision win although many have claimed Vitali’s performance was a sign of a champion on the decline.
Finally, the last weekend of the month contained two interesting fights and one which was responsible for Adrien “The Problem” Broner being named our FOTM. Devon Alexander met Marcos Maidana in the main event of the evening and made Maidana look pedestrian in a one sided win for Alexander. Maidana is a For The Suits favorite but he looked a shell of his former self this past Saturday. We had figured the fight would be reminiscent of Maidana and Amir Khan’s showdown in November of 2011 but it was not even close. Maidana had no answer for Alexander’s onslaught and we hope Maidana is able to come back from such a one sided victory. Alexander on the other hand has certainly made many people remember the Devon Alexander that at one time possessed a lot of hype amongst boxing enthusiasts. We wouldn’t mind seeing a showdown between Alexander and the winner of Khan/Peterson II.
Now, the point of this entire column. On Saturday night Adrien Broner completely outclassed his toughest opponent to date. Before the fight many in the boxing press were predicting a tough fight for Broner and a possibly upset for Eloy Perez. We thought the same, predicting a late win for Broner. Not even close to being the case folks. Broner completely demolished Perez. He took a cat many felt was in his league and made him look like a bum. Utilizing defensive angles that resulted in Perez hardly getting a punch in all night Broner then switched to his offensive game to KO Perez in the fourth round. It was an easy choice for the FOTM after that. Gabriel Campillo proved himself to be better than most gave him credit for but Adrien Broner proved himself to be even better than anyone though. And that’s why he’s the For The Suits FOTM for February.
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