Rising superstar Adrien ?The Problem? Broner (27-0, 22 KOs) captured the WBA welterweight title moments ago at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York with a competitive split decision victory over Paulie Malignaggi (32-5, 7 KOs) as seen live on Showtime. The win at 147 pounds for Broner came after he moved right up from lightweight (bypassing 140 pounds) to fight for the title. Malignaggi started strong out of the gate throwing a lot of punches in the early going. Malignaggi?s activity level kept Broner quiet in the first half of the fight but there was very little that seemed to bother the Cincinnati native. Broner started to heat up in the middle rounds and began to land some very hard well placed shots that were clearly the strongest scoring blows of the fight. Broner stayed strong down the stretch and despite a few busy flurries from Malignaggi Adrien appeared to have a close but decided edge going late into the fight. After twelve rounds were complete a split decision was announced with Malignaggi getting one card 115-113 in his favour while Broner received a 115-113 tally and a curious 117-111 score. The win captured Broner the WBA 147-pound title at just 23 years of age.
