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Adrien Broner scores split decision over Adrian Granados

Adrien Broner
Adrien Broner defeated Adrian Granados by split decision Saturday night in a non-title fight. (Getty Images)

Professional boxing made its debut Saturday night on Twitter as Adrien Broner, a former champion in four weight classes, earned a 10-round split decision over Adrian Granados in Cincinnati. The judges scored the welterweight fight 97-93 (Broner), 97-93 (Granados) and 96-94 (Broner).

Yahoo Sports gave Broner the edge, 96-94.

Broner improves to 33-2 (1 NC) as Granados slips to 18-5-2. However, slightly more than 52 percent of fans watching on Twitter had Granados winning the bout.

Granados, facing the highest-profile opponent of his career, pressured Broner from the start of the opening round. Using his superior height and reach, Granados landed several looping right hands to Broner’s head in the stanza.

But Broner, a notoriously slow starter, would close the gap in Round 2 by utilizing his foot and hand speed while catching Granados coming in head-first with right uppercuts to the jaw. The fighters would use their advantages throughout most of the fight to keep the scoring close.

While each fighter acknowledged his respect and friendship for the other, there was pre-fight tension between them. Broner insisted the bout be contested at 147 pounds and limited to 10 rounds. Granados and his handlers demanded the contest be set for 12 rounds and 140 pounds.

In the end, Broner got his way.

“They were playing with me,” Granados said after the fight. “They changed the weight, they changed the number of rounds. But look, it was a split decision. Let’s do it again. Let’s do it in my house. Let’s do it in Chicago.”

In the co-main event, former light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson returned to action for the first time in more than a year to claim the WBA welterweight title with a unanimous decision over David Avanesyan.

Peterson (35-3-1) impressed the judges with a non-stop inside attack, mostly to the body of the defending champion. Avanesyan falls to 22-2-1.