Four-division world champion Adrien Broner pulled out of the scheduled for this Saturday, August 20 bout against Omar Figueroa, citing personal issues in advance of the fight. The pair was set to battle it out in the headliner of a three-fight Showtime televised card live from Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL. Fellow-former world champion Sergey Lipinets, who was initially lined up on the undercard, stepped in to face “Panterita” in the twelve-round WBC super lightweight title eliminator serving as the main event.
“Man, I’m going [through] a lot at this moment in my life, but I ain’t gonna give up. I set some more goals and I finish what I started but sorry to say this, but I’m not fighting August 20,” Broner said in an Instagram post. “Sorry to all my fans but Mental Health is real and I’m not about to play inside the ring … So, I have to step back and overcome this obstacle before I go put my life on the line inside the square circle again. I know I’m far from being finished with the sport See y’all soon.”
Omar Figueroa Jr vs Sergey Lipinets
The 32-year-old Omar Figueroa Jr (28-2-1, 19 KOs) is from a fighting family along with his younger brother Brandon, a former super bantamweight world champion. Figueroa won the WBC Lightweight World Championship with a unanimous decision victory over Nihito Arakawa in a 2013 “Fight of the Year” and successfully defended the title two times before moving up to super lightweight in 2015. Figueroa has also fought at welterweight, earning action-packed victories over Robert Guerrero, John Molina Jr., and Antonio DeMarco. He’ll move back down to super lightweight on August 20 after back-to-back defeats against Yordenis Ugas and Abel Ramos. His match against Lipinets is a classic crossroads fight.
“This is going to be a great fight against Lipinets and I hope he’s ready for what I’m bringing,” said Figueroa. “I’ve made changes in my life and I’m excited to see the kind of fighter that I am now. I’m going to show what I can do now that I have a clear head and a clear path ahead of me. With the opponent change I’m even more ready to take all the frustrations and anger that have built up in camp and bring it into the ring on Saturday and come out victorious.”
Sergey Lipinets (16-2-1, 12 KOs) has been in training and was already scheduled to appear on the August 20 card before being elevated as a replacement for Broner in the main event. Born in Martuk, Kazakhstan and now living in Woodland Hills, Calif., Lipinets is no stranger to the main stage, having tangled with champions including Lamont Peterson and Mikey Garcia. The 33-year-old defeated Akhiro Kondo for the IBF super lightweight title in 2017 and lost the title to Garcia by unanimous decision in 2018. He is coming off a loss to Jaron Ennis in a welterweight title in April 2021.
“We’ve actually been in camp for almost three months getting ready for whoever they put in front of me,” said Lipinets. “We’ve been training with no particular opponent in mind. There have been a few different guys that have said they wanted to fight me. So, we’ve been sparring with and preparing for all types of styles. And now we get this great news that I get to fight Figueroa this Saturday. I can’t wait to show everyone that I’m still a force to be reckoned with at 140 pounds.”
In the co-main event top 140-pound contenders Alberto Puello and Batyr Akhmedov squaring off for the vacant WBA super lightweight title. Also on the card WBA super featherweight champion Roger Gutierrez defends his belt against unbeaten Hector Garcia. In the telecast opener, Brandun Lee takes on Will Madera at super lightweight.
A pair of bouts live on Showtime Sports channel on YouTube and Showtime Boxing page on Facebook features unbeaten Cuban Lenier Pero faceoff Joel Caudle in the eight-rounder at heavyweight and undefeated Fiodor Czerkaszyn up against Gilbert Venegas Jr in the eight-rounder at middleweight.
Figueroa vs Lipinets fight card
The current Figueroa vs Lipinets fight card live on Showtime and digital platforms looks as the following:
Main Card
- Omar Figueroa Jr vs. Sergey Lipinets, 12 rounds, super lightweight – WBC super lightweight title eliminator
- Alberto Puello vs. Batyr Akhmedov, 12 rounds, super lightweight – for vacant WBA super lightweight title
- Roger Gutierrez vs. Hector Luis Garcia, 12 rounds, super featherweight – for Gutierrez’s WBA super featherweight title
- Brandun Lee vs. Will Madera, 10 rounds, super lightweight
Undercard
- Lenier Pero vs. Joel Caudle, 8 rounds, heavyweight
- Fiodor Czerkaszyn vs. Gilbert Venegas Jr, 8 rounds, middleweight
The post Adrien Broner withdraws from Omar Figueroa fight, scheduled for undercard Sergey Lipinets steps in appeared first on FIGHTMAG.