After all the excitement that the heavyweight division provided boxing fans with last week, it will be nice to see a more civil battle take place in St. Louis when Adrien Broner defends the WBO junior lightweight championship against Eloy Perez. 

The undefeated Broner has won 18 of his 22 career fights via knockout. He has ended his last two bouts before the fourth round. 

Perez also boasts a perfect record at 23-0. He is much more methodical in his fights, preferring to slowly rip his opponents apart before finishing them off. While he enters this fight as the underdog, he can more than hold his own against Broner. 

Where: Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri

When: Saturday, Feb. 25 at 10:00 p.m. EDT

Watch: HBO

Live Streaming: HBO GO

Broner's Keys to Victory

Courtesy of Crunch Sports

Use his speed and power to overwhelm Perez.

Broner fights with reckless abandon, choosing to close on his opponents fast and keep them from ever getting into a rhythm. 

It is hard to argue with the results so far, but he will have to be careful against Perez. He needs to be a bit more methodical before going in to end it. 

Perez's Keys to Victory

Courtesy of Tony Overman

Use Broner's aggressive nature against him and make this a long fight. 

The best thing that Perez has going for him is his ability to let fights come to him. He is more than happy to let his opponent do something that costs him the fight. 

Broner is going to try to attack him early, so it is best for Perez if he lets the champion punch himself out early. That will give him a huge advantage in the later rounds. 

What They're Saying

Perez knows that Broner lives and dies on his speed, which is something that he has worked diligently to prepare for in training. He told Luis Sandoval of Boxing Scene that he is not going to be intimidated by anything the champion throws his way on Saturday night. 

"I'll just be prepared and have my experience come in. I've fought and sparred a lot of fast guys. I've sparred Mike Dallas Jr. I've fought Dannie Williams. So I've worked with a lot of fast guys. I'm prepared for whatever Adrien Broner is going to bring. Like I said, he is the champ so I got to respect him."

...

"I don’t think he’s underestimating me, I think he’s scared s***less. I haven’t tried to fight him back or talk s*** back to him. We’ve come face to face a lot, I kept my mouth shut and looked him straight in his eyes and there was no eye contact. So I think he’s scared but he would never admit it."

Prediction

Broner is a big favorite coming into this fight, but Perez is getting slighted because he doesn't win as sexy as Broner does. Saturday night is going to be all about upsets. 

Perez wins via unanimous decision

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