Adrien Broner Floored, Loses Tooth in Ten Round, Unanimous Decision Defeat to Blair Cobbs
Photo Credit David Martin-Warr / DKP.
“It’s not over yet.
That three-word line has been a way of life for Blair Cobbs, and one he repeated after his latest victory. The sensational welterweight came to the finish line early in round ten, with a decision win over former four-division contender Adrien Broner. The scores were 97-92, 96-93 and 96-93 for Cobbs in their main Thriller TV Pay-Per-View event on Friday evening at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
Broner vowed to fight a renewed hunger but quickly reverted to his old ways when the opening bell rang. Cobbs was able to take the first round solidly in action, as Broner threw a few jabs.
Cobbs singled in the top of the second. A right hook followed by a straight left to send Broner to the canvas. It even managed to knock a tooth out of the mouth of a native of Cincinnati, Ohio.
This sequence caused Broner to drop his hands, meaning he threw punches. The action picked up from that point throughout the round, though Cobbs still landed plenty of blows.
It quickly went back to one punch at a time for Broner, and usually not even that many.
Cobbs, meanwhile, circled the ring to taunt Broner and land his combinations. The left hand continued to land for the Las Vegas-based southpaw, who also worked continuously during the fight.
Broner took the work rate down in the second half of the fight. Cobbs had already built a big lead by that point, though.
Broner’s uppercut found its home, as did the right hands in the entertaining sixth round. Cobbs turned the tide in the seventh round with a takedown. Enough shots landed to knock Broner’s mouth out, a recurring theme throughout the fight.
Broner closed strong in the last three rounds. Cobbs was still a very active boxer but was forced to move more and land less as Broner fought hard to erase an early deficit and land a knockout punch.
The final round saw Broner back Cobbs into the corner when he couldn’t put out his flamboyant foe. Cobbs never flinched, despite landing right hands and a final left hook in the closing seconds.
Cobbs went 17-1-1 (10 knockouts). The win was the second in a row, albeit spread over a two-year period. He last fought in an August 2022 victory over former 140-pounder Maurice Hooker on the road in Fort Worth, Texas. The fight got him back into the win column following a March 2022 knockout loss to Alexis ‘Lex’ Rocha (24-2, 16 KOs). And it was the last time under his contract with Golden Boy Promotions—anywhere until he got this opportunity.
Cobbs previously signed with Don King Productions, specifically to get this fight.
“One of the things on my message board… fight Adrien Broner,” Cobbs said after the win.
Broner fell to 35-5-1 (24 KOs). The win ended a two-fight winning streak for the former 130-, 135-, 140- and 147-pounder on the list, who turns 35 in July. He has fought just three times since losing to Jan. 2019 lost by eight rounds to Manny Pacquiao, and his belt on Friday is the first since he defeated Bill Hutchinson last June 10 in Miami.
Meanwhile, life goes on for Cobbs who was true to his postwar primary calling. He did not expect that the title would follow, but he would like to get a name for himself in sports.
“I saw something on Instagram. Ryan Garcia wanted ‘AB’,” Cobbs noted. “That hurt me because I thought we were boys. But get your girl out of the DMs.
“It’s my turn, Blair “The Flair” Cobbs, the most exciting man in boxing and the People’s Champion. Wow!”
Also on the show, second generation heavyweight Michael Hunter II (23-1-2, 16 KOs) closed out ten rounds over a reluctant Cassius Chaney (23-2, 16 KOs). The scores were 100-90 on all three cards for Hunter, who was the only one who bothered to get involved in their ugly affair.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
