Tonight, starting at 7:00 pm EDT on Showtime Extreme, and continuing at 9:25 pm EDT on Showtime, we'll have five fights live from the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, as Adrien Broner (28-1, 22 KO) returns home to face Emmanuel Taylor (18-2, 12 KO) in the junior welterweight main event.
Broner, 25, is looking to go 2-0 at 140 pounds, making his debut in the division this past May with an easy win over non-contender Carlos Molina, in a fight designed to bring Broner back from a humbling December 2013 loss to Marcos Maidana at welterweight. The three-division titleholder will be looking to make it four classes sooner than later, as long as he stays on track tonight.
Taylor, 23, is a rather unremarkable opponent, and really doesn't figure to be much better than most of the guys Broner has beaten to date, but he's a game fighter who has a huge opportunity, and even though it's cliché promoter-speak, sometimes those guys can be the most dangerous foes of all. There is nothing for Taylor to lose in this fight, and basically everything to gain. He's coming off of a win over Karim Mayfield, following a loss to Chris Algieri earlier this year.
In the night's main co-feature bout, Lucas Matthysse (35-3, 33 KO) will bring his powerful onslaught back to the ring against unbeaten and untested Mexican Roberto Ortiz (31-0-1, 24 KO). The 28-year-old Ortiz hasn't faced total stiffs, but there's a big jump from Fidel Monterrosa and Reyes Sanchez up to Matthysse, the powerful 31-year-old slugger from Argentina. With a win, Matthysse hopes to land a rematch with Danny Garcia, but that may be wishful thinking.
The first Showtime-televised bout will feature the return of former welterweight titlist Andre Berto (28-3, 22 KO), who has lost two straight fights, and hasn't scored a win in three years. His last bout came in July 2013, when he was upset by Jesus Soto Karass, stopped in the 12th round after taking a pretty thorough beating and injuring his shoulder once again. After surgery and rehab, the 31-year-old Berto (well, he's 31 tomorrow) is training with Virgil Hunter, and will be facing Pittsburgh-born, Philly-bred Steve Upsher Chambers (24-3-1, 6 KO).
On Showtime Extreme, 24-year-old junior welterweight prospect Michael Perez (20-1-2, 10 KO) will face Jared Robinson (15-1, 7 KO) in a 10-round fight, while former three-time Olympian Rau'Shee Warren (11-0, 3 KO) meets Jose Luis Araiza (31-8-1, 22 KO) in a bantamweight bout.