Adrien Broner aiming for knockout against Omar Figueroa Jr

Adrien Broner’s fight with Omar Figueroa Jr is fully official for Aug. 20 on Showtime from Hollywood, Fla., and will be the latest sort of “comeback” attempt for Broner, a fighter who at 33 has seen his star fade over several years of poor performances and inconsistent results.

Broner (34-4-1, 24 KO) is once again saying all the right things ahead of the fight, which will be his first since a debated Feb. 2021 win over Jovanie Santiago, where he once again just didn’t let his hands go, a familiar theme.

Broner says he will be aiming for the knockout against Figueroa (28-2-1, 19 KO), a 32-year-old former lightweight titlist who has also seen better days, losing his last two bouts in one-sided fashion against Yordenis Ugas and Abel Ramos.

“I’m going in there to try to stop Figueroa,” he said. “I’m going to take the fight to him and go ahead and get him out of there. What I expect from him is the same gruesome Figueroa that we always see. He’ll try to make it a rough fight. Every fighter is different, but I don’t think he’ll be hard to hit.’’

Broner has won world titles at 130 and 135, and secondary WBA belts at 140 and 147, and was once a consistent draw for TV outlets. But his fight with Santiago did poor numbers on Showtime, and there is the sense out there that even many of his once-loyal fans have moved on.

AB will, of course, be looking to change that going forward.

As for Figueroa, the knock on him has always been that he didn’t stay focused on his career, and maybe just wasn’t that dedicated to it, and he’s also looking to change the perception.

“I’m excited to move on to the next phase of my life and career, especially now that my mental health is at the forefront of everything I do,” he said. “Having a clear mind has been the best thing to happen to me. Now I’m able to focus 100 percent on my boxing career and I can’t wait to be back in the ring.”

The show will also feature Batyr Akhmedov vs Alberto Puello for the vacant WBA title at 140, plus Roger Gutierrez defending his WBA 130 lb title against mandatory challenger Hector Garcia.