By: Sean Crose
Adrien Broner returned to the ring for the first time in nearly a year on Friday night. His opponent is Blair Cobb, an unknown but determined person. The 10-round bout was scheduled to take place at the Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida and be televised live on pay-per-view. The 35-5-1 Broner stalked his man in the first while the 16-1-1 Cobbs used a southpaw jab.
It’s worth noting that Broner looked a bit soft around the middle and appeared to be breathing heavily in the corner between rounds one and two. Cobbs began throwing combinations in the second round, and then took Broner to the mat. Broner, having stood up before the count of ten, searched for his mouthpiece. Cobbs continued to fire as the fight continued, but Broner, to his credit, continued to fight furiously before the round ended.
Cobbs, who was clearly the sharper of the two fighters, was able to land shots in the third round while largely avoiding Broner with superior footwork. Broner pushed the action in the fourth round, as he had done much of the fight thus far. However, Broner doesn’t look very sharp.
Cobbs was able to rock his man again in the fifth. He did so again in the sixth. By the seventh, it was hard to argue against Broner looking sluggish. Broner was aggressive in round eight, but Cobbs’ fists were faster. Broner continued to pursue Cobbs in the ninth, with some success. By finally letting go, he was able to look impressive. Broner continued to perform well again in round ten. Indeed, he tagged Cobbs hard at the final bell.
Unfortunately for Broner, that wasn’t enough. The judges awarded Cobbs a unanimous decision victory.
