Rivera tabbed as potential Feb. 13 Broner foe

Rivera defeated Fidel Maldonado Jr. and Ladarius Miller during his 2020 campaign

Adrien Broner recently received and lost an opponent for his February 13th return to the ring in quick succession, as Pedro Campa withdrew due to a team member testing positive for COVID. Now, Julius Julianis reports that Dominican lightweight prospect Michel Rivera will take Campa’s place and meet Broner at 140 pounds. Jake Donovan claims that the pair are in “advanced talks,” though nothing is official yet.

The 22-year-old Rivera (19-0, 12 KO) has been extremely solid these past two years, starting with a well-aged decision over Rene Tellez Giron. He opened his 2020 campaign with a 10-round rout of Fidel Maldonado Jr., then overpowered an overweight Ladarius Miller eight months later. While he’s the one moving up in weight, he’s actually slightly taller than Broner (33-4-1, 24 KO) and boasts a longer reach.

If Campa was a sacrifice, Rivera is a real test. This is a legitimately intriguing crossroads bout; a win for Campa could potentially vault him into the utter logjam the lightweight elite has become, while Broner could re-establish himself as a person of interest at 140. Let’s hope they get it over the finish line.