Adrien Broner heads to BLK Prime in the New Year
The self-proclaimed “Can Man” Adrien Jerome Broner (34-4-1, 24KO) will face Ukrainian southpaw Ivan “El Terrible” Redkach (23-6-1, 18KO) in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 18, 2023, in his debut on the newly created BLK Prime platform.
The fight announcement took place at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska, as Terence Crawford successfully defended his WBO welterweight belt against challener David Avanesyan with a stunning sixth-round KO.
Ohio's Broner recently signed a three-fight deal with BLK Prime. He was scheduled to fight Omar Figueroa on August 20 in Hollywood, due to headline a three-fight Showtime Championship Boxing telecast, but withdrew from the bout days prior, citing mental health issues.
Broner, who resides in Cincinnati, has not fought since February last year, defeating Jovanie Santiago by unanimous decision. The win over Santiago took place over two years after Broner lost by unanimous decision to Manny Pacquiao.
The 33-year-old won a vacant world title belt at 130 pounds against Vicente Rodriguez in November 2011 and now currently fights at 147 pounds. Once viewed as one of boxing’s stars-in-the-making, the polarizing Broner built his resume with wins over several well-known names of the early 2010s, including Antonio DeMarco for a lightweight title and Paulie Malignaggi for a belt at welterweight, before suffering a punishing defeat at the hands of Marcos Maidana in 2013. He would also be defeated by Shawn Porter and Mikey Garcia in the following three-and-a-half years.
Redkach is also coming off a long layoff, having not fought since April 17 of last year. He faced Regis Prograis, losing by technical decision, but the result was changed to a technical knockout loss after the Georgia Athletic and Entertainment Commission ruled Redkach went down on a legal punch from Prograis in Atlanta.
36-year-old Redkach, originally from Ukraine but now resides in Los Angeles, previously lost to Danny Garcia by unanimous decision in January 2020. The fight included a bizarre moment when Redkach bit Garcia on the shoulder.
Also on the February 18 card, former IBF world junior lightweight titleholder Tevin Farmer will face Mickey Bey in a 10-round bout. The fight has been in the works for the last several months and has been postponed a handful of times.
