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Hometown star Adrien Broner made his fans happy with a win over Emmanuel Taylor at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati last night on Showtime, and brought in a very good crowd, too, drawing a reported 8,115 fans to the arena for what wasn't exactly a marquee matchup, in what's not exactly a known fight city.
Broner (29-1, 22 KO) may be questionable in the ring, but at 25, he's definitely one of American boxing's more notable figures, drawing good TV numbers, and improving as a live draw. Whether anyone likes it or not, he's become a star. But being an attraction and being a great fighter are two very different things, and Broner arguably still has not proven the latter.
That said, boxing is a money game before it's a competitive sport like other major sports, and this means that Broner has the edge in negotiations, including if he does indeed fight Lucas Matthysse next, as he says he desires.
All that said, as good a number as this is for the fight, location, and all that, it puts the U.S. boxing scene in perspective, as earlier in the day, Carl Frampton's win over Kiko Martinez in Belfast did around 16,000 fans at the Titanic Quarter.