UNCASVILLE, Conn. – February 21, 2021 – Former four-division world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner returned from his two-year hiatus from boxing with a unanimous decision victory over Jovanie Santiago in the main event of Saturday night’s SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast, live on SHOWTIME from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., in a Premier Boxing Champions event.
The popular, must-see attraction Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs), who last fought against the legend Manny Pacquiao in January 2019, started slowly but used the second half of the fight to surge ahead on the judges’ scorecards. The fight was scored 116-111, 117-110 and 115-112 and all three judges had Broner winning rounds seven through ten.
Cincinnati’s Broner landed just 35 of 138 punches in the opening six rounds of the fight while the previously undefeated Santiago (14-1-1, 10 KOs) landed 93 of 305 during the same stretch. At the end of the fourth round, Santiago was deducted a point for a punch that landed after the bell. Over the final six frames, Broner landed 63 of 300 punches while Santiago landed 114 of 392. Broner was most active in the ninth round when he connected on 14 of 38 punches. Though outworked over the entirety of the fight, Broner landed quality punches over the second half of the bout which earned him the victory.
SHOWTIME’s unofficial scorer Steve Farhood scored the fight 114-113 in favor of the Puerto Rican Santiago, much to the chagrin of Broner. Santiago, on the other hand, was not surprised by the judges’ scorecards.