WBO Super Featherweight champion Adrien Broner will face unknown Gary Sykes on May 19th as the co-feature to the Lamont Peterson – Amir Khan rematch in Las Vegas according to espn.com’s Dan Rafael
“Man, no matter who it was, I am still going to make all work look like easy work,” Broner said. “I’m taking over boxing. I’m the missing puzzle piece, flat out.”
“The fight has been approved and we’re all confirmed. We are ready to go,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. “The visa attorneys are working on the visa. Obviously, they don’t see any issues. He should get it in about 15 days. We informed HBO of the visa situation and they are aware the visa has to be processed and that it takes some time.”
“We are bringing Adrien back quickly from the February fight and we were looking at different opponents, but some were not available and we zeroed in on Gary Sykes,” Schaefer said. “You need to realize that when you call to ask people if they want to fight Adrien Broner, the other side doesn’t say, ‘Oh, great.’ There is a hesitation. So it’s becoming more and more difficult to find an opponent from a field that is already skim pickings to start with because the 130-pound division is not a deep division. You have guys like (Yuriorkis) Gamboa and (Robert) Guerrero who are top fighters but who moved up in weight.”
“Combine the talent, the charisma and the brush and he has superstar written all over him, so we want to keep him busy,” Schaefer said, referring to Broner’s habit of having his father brush his hair in the ring after his victories. “He is comfortable at 130 pounds. He’ll probably have a few more title defenses before he goes up to lightweight. But if the right opportunity came along at 135, he would probably go up for that.
“There is no rush to leave 130, though. He’s entertaining and one of the most exciting fighters and one of the most charismatic. So more power to him that he can capture the interest of the public in a division which lacks other big names.”
