Michael Williams Jr. got a call of a lifetime from promoter, Christy Martin. Martin asked Williams Jr., if he’d like to fight Adrien Broner on February 25th, at Gateway Center Arena, College Park, GA, on BLK Prime pay-per-view.
Prior to this Broner was set to face Ivan Redkach, but that bout fell through with Redkach promptly retiring after a miscommunication between his team. Hank Lundy was set to fight Broner, but was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission after pulling out of a fight with Ernesto “Tito” Mercado, and then entered Michael Williams Jr.
“I am always in the gym training just case a call like this happened, [since] we’re independent [without a major promoter],” said Williams Jr. to Lukie, while doing a livestream broadcast on ITRBoxing’s YouTube channel. “When [Broner] was popping everybody [watched him]. [I remember] watching AB footage…when [Broner] came through I was like 12 or 13 [years-old], maybe. To me watching AB it was like ‘wow, look at this dude’, and now I get to fight him. That’s dope.”
As for what Williams Jr., and his father expect from Adrien Broner, they truly don’t know.
“I don’t know - we’re expecting both sides if he wants to act crazy. We’re just going to match his energy,” explained Michael Williams Jr. “Whatever AB brings we’re definitely coming with that force, too!”
Then we have the John Bauza fight. A brutal loss that saw Michael Williams Jr., dropped multiple times before being stopped. The performance was so one-sided it might be a cynic the reason Broner is facing Williams Jr. Yet, Michael Williams Sr., takes the blame for that result.
“The Madison Square Garden fight [against John Bauza], what people never took into consideration, and we never made excuses, but we will be real now - We took that fight against Buaza at 140 [lbs]. Luke, we had a horrible weight cut,” said Michael Williams Sr. “Roy Jones told me, ‘Mike is not strong at 140’, but sometimes I am hard-headed, know what I am saying [SIC], and champ, Mike Jr., he doesn’t care, he is willing to fight anyone.”
The result was a stoppage loss that was a learning lesson for all involved.
“Mike walks around at like 160 [lbs], what did you drop down to like 137 [lbs], champ?,” asked Michael Williams Sr., to his son Michael Williams Jr., who nodded to signal yes. “Mike was just weak, but you know what God is great, and I think AB picked us based off that fight.”
Adrien Broner has been in camp in Florida with Kevin Cunningham, but has not been in the ring since February 2021 when he got an unanimous decision win over Jovannie Santiago. Broner was set to face Omar Figueroa Jr., but pulled out of the fight the Sunday before fight week citing mental health issues.
This will be Broner’s first time in a boxing ring in more than two years, as Broner’s absence from the sport has been so long, it almost seems foreign to see him back in the ring.
Now Williams Jr. looks to write his own Rocky story when fights Adrien Broner at the end of February, live on pay-per-view.
