Adrien Broner vs. Khabib Allakhverdiev: Winner, Recap and Reaction

On Saturday night in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, Adrien "The Problem" Broner (31-2, 23 KOs) won his fourth world title in as many divisions with a 12th-round technical-knockout victory over Khabib Allakhverdiev (19-2). The win gave Broner the WBA junior welterweight title in what turned out to be a dominating performance.

Showtime Sports shared the final-round finish:

Early in the fight, Broner seemed content to employ his wide stance and look for an opportunity to counter. Allakhverdiev's low punch output didn't present many opportunities, and he also lacked the power to make Broner respect him.

Because of this dynamic, Broner was walking through Allakhverdiev's delayed and weakened attack. Once Broner opened up his attack in the sixth round and became the aggressor, it was all downhill for Allakhverdiev.

Broner's punches did major damage to Allakhverdiev's face, and at the end of the eighth round, the latter's trainer, John Jackson, threatened to stop the fight if his fighter didn't "show him something," per the Showtime broadcast.

Allakhverdiev responded with a strong ninth, but Broner continued to land thudding straight right hands and jolting uppercuts on the inside. By the final round, referee Harvey Dock had seen enough and spared Allakhverdiev the final moments of the beating.

World champions Badou Jack and Terence Crawford were impressed by Broner's performance, but there's a flip side to this bout.

Broner did look good, but he was supposed to against a slow, soft-punching opponent like Allakhverdiev, This was one of the cheapest legitimate world titles you'll ever see a guy win. Both fighters lost their last bouts, and Allakhverdiev hadn't fought in almost two years.

Because of this, don't expect an outpouring of respect for Broner from the boxing community. Essentially, he did what he was supposed to do.

Looking ahead, Broner needs to take on an elite fighter in the weight class. However, it doesn't look as if that's immediately on his agenda. Per the Showtime broadcast, Broner is calling out Ashley Theophane—really? Michael Woods of the Sweet Science added even more perspective on Broner's announcement:

Theophane is a decent fighter, but from a standpoint of commercial appeal, it doesn't seem like he's on Broner's level. It's hard to imagine that fight producing a ton of viewers on Showtime or NBC as part of a Premier Boxing Champions main event.

We'll see whether that bout comes to fruition or the Problem takes on an opponent that can help him prove he's one of the best in the weight class.

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