David Becker/Associated Press

Adrien Broner vs. Jessie Vargas Fight Ends in Majority Draw After 12 Rounds

Adam Wells

Adrien Broner and Jessie Vargas' battle at the Barclays Center on Saturday night was deemed too close to call, with the judges scoring the 12-round fight a majority draw.

One judge gave Broner a slight 115-113 edge, but two others scored the bout even at 114-114.

Vargas was the more aggressive fighter at the start and landed more punches throughout the fight. Broner allowed the fight to come to him, using accuracy and patience to pick his spots.

It wasn't until the ninth round that Broner started to open up his game. The Can Man landed a huge uppercut on Vargas just before the bell rang and then followed it up with hard shots to the head in the 10th and cut him in the 11th round.

MLB Network's Robert Flores had this GIF to sum up how Broner looked in the early rounds of the fight:

This match was originally scheduled to be Broner (33-3-1, one no-contest) taking on Omar Figueroa Jr. in a 140-pound WBC championship eliminator, but Figueroa withdrew from the fight on March 4 after suffering a shoulder injury during training, according to ESPN.com's Dan Rafael.

Vargas (28-2-1) was announced as Figueroa's replacement the following day, and the match would be fought at 144 pounds.

Despite the late change in opponent and weight, Broner didn't appear to be concerned that he was in danger of losing and got in some shots at Figueroa.

"I'm feeling really good, and I'm excited that this is an even bigger fight than Figueroa," Broner said, per Rafael. "I had to switch up some sparring partners, but everything is going great in camp. We're fighting at 144 pounds, so he'll have a slight weight advantage, but it won't matter. I'm going to be in great shape for this fight."

Broner entered Saturday's bout with Vargas coming off a unanimous-decision loss to Mikey Garcia last July. The Cincinnati native looked overmatched in that fight, getting outpunched by a 244-125 margin over 12 rounds, per CBSSports.com's Lyle Fitzsimmons.

Each of Broner's three career losses came in his previous nine fights. He needed a win over Vargas to get back on track and potentially set up a showdown against either WBC light welterweight champion Jose Ramirez or interim champion Regis Prograis.

After the majority draw, the next logical step will be a rematch between Broner and Vargas.

   

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