Adrien Broner vs. Khabib Allakhverdiev: TV Schedule and Prediction

Adrien "The Problem" Broner has had quite an eventful career for a 26-year-old. He has already held a world title in three different weight classes and is set to take on Khabib Allakhverdiev for a fourth (the WBA light welterweight title) on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET.

The 12-round bout is in Broner's hometown of Cincinnati at U.S. Bank Arena and will be televised on Showtime. The home crowd will support the local boxing product as he battles his Russian adversary.

This is going to be an interesting bout because Allakhverdiev is a southpaw whose stance alone is enough to throw an opponent off. With a 19-1 record to date, the only blemish on his record was a loss to Jessie Vargas in April 2014. That defeat cost him the WBA super lightweight and IBO junior welterweight titles.

Broner (30-2) also has to be fired up and appears eager to prove himself after a loss in his most recent appearance in the ring to Shawn Porter. It marked Broner's second such result in less than two years to go with his maiden defeat at the hands of Marcos Maidana in December 2013.

In an interview with Showtime, Broner outlined what's motivating him ahead of the clash with Allakhverdiev, per Sky Sports:

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When you get so far in doing things your way, sometimes you don't see what you've got to change until something happens - like a loss. It's time to stop and take your career serious. The lights, the horse-playing, of course I'll always be me. Hate it or love it, I'll always be AB but where I am in the game right now, I'm still a student. I've accomplished a lot at a young age but I have so much more to do.

"

ESPN's Dan Rafael weighed in on Broner's decision to stay out of the media spotlight prior to his upcoming fight:

Maturity issues have plagued Broner in recent years and finally caught up to him as he's been on the precipice of being recognized among the true elite in boxing. He has tremendous upside and has the makings of the next great American star, but he must maintain his perspective while working toward that reality.

In light of what Broner has said before the fight—along with the training footage from FightHype.com below—it does seem as though he's toned down his antics and is indeed focused on the task at hand more than ever.

If this is the beginning of Broner 2.0, there's little chance for Allakhverdiev to pull off an upset—even if the perception is that he has far less to lose than Broner does.

Where Allakhverdiev will run into trouble is the lack of power in his punch, as evidenced in the nine knockouts among his 19 victories. Although he should be able to take a few clean shots from Broner in the earlier rounds, those will eventually wear on him. Broner will be in attack mode and pummel his opponent with authority and relative ease.

Those who have doubted Broner's work ethic and felt he won't ever capitalize on his evident upside may be changing their tune after The Problem causes numerous problems for Allakhverdiev and eventually knocks him out in the middle rounds.

Prediction: Broner wins via KO in seventh round.