Broner should give serious thought to the art of tact and saving the gibberish for when the work is really done for the day?
For the time being, let us lay down our swords that many of us have pointed directly at the Adam?s apple of the traveling pugilistic circus that has come to describe the Premier Boxing Champions showcase. Never mind the fact that many aspects of the little train that can?t quite yet still tries finds itself not exactly blind but still without a cane. If we didn?t know any better, then some of us might think that the powers behind the new kid in town favors Las Vegas and Brooklyn more than any other feasible locale. For now, we?ll drop the argument altogether.
Let?s instead look at Saturday night?s demonstration of how long it feels we?ve collectively waited for humility to be delivered upon the brash and braggadocios. Adrien ?The Problem? Broner is a phenomenal talent in the ring, yet hopefully for his sake, he?ll no longer boast and present himself as the next and perhaps only big thing in boxing. Too many fighters over the years have made such claims and from time to time, the sport has a way of erasing the memory of them. When Broner knocked Shawn Porter to the canvas in the twelfth round of their non-title welterweight (catchweight) clash at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday night, he didn?t do his customary as well as entertaining shake and shimmy. Rather, he may have known that his efforts weren?t necessarily a case of ?too little, too late? as they may have been ?so far and so what.? This wasn?t revenge served cold. It wasn?t one?s comeuppance.
Most likely, what we saw transpire in a half house configuration at the MGM was someone who placed too much credence in the belief that a battle is won before it?s actually fought. Let?s not soon forget that the usually watchful and trustful eye of referee Tony Weeks took the night off. Throughout much of the contest, Broner appeared agitated that Porter was beating him to the punch and that he had the sheer audacity to keep charging back, again and again. The consistent tying up, pushing down and lockups were an insult to the paying public.
Granted, professionals make the eternally difficult art of boxing look easy. Many within the boxing Bourgeoisie, whom themselves cannot conquer a flight of stairs without gasping for air, are quick to point their respective fingers and label a fighter as a bum or the like. Broner (30-2, 22 K?s) didn?t lose because he didn?t try. Instead, he may have lost because he didn?t try enough. ?AB? perhaps was thinking more about billions and less about boxing. Enter Shawn ?Showtime? Porter, who chose his ringwalk music to be the Black Sabbath classic, ?Iron Man.? The man from Cleveland flashed a smile from time to time, yet he was all business once the bell rang.
PBC still wins gold stars from this writer due to the fact that the competitors make their respective way to the ring in the same fashion that they find themselves during regulation time within it: alone. During the fight, whenever Adrien wasn?t grabbing and holding Porter, who slowly gained the upper hand, he seemed to forget that judges don?t care (or at least aren?t supposed to do so) that a fighter can take a punch shake his head as if to say, ?No, you cannot hurt me.?
Fair enough, yet effective aggression will usually get the higher nod. The Cincinnati pugilist at the very least handled himself much better than he did when he lost to Marcos Maidana in San Antonio eighteen months ago. He stormed out of the ring that night after his Argentine foe, much like Shawn Porter (26-1, 16 KOs) wasn?t fizzled in any way by his brash nature and less than gregarious persona.
We could figure out that Maidana was one mean dude. Most who have a Colt Python tattooed on their waist didn?t go through such trouble to affirm their love for the second amendment. He was squarely focused on ramming Broner?s attitude back in his face and he proceeded to do so. Porter, by contrast wasn?t as ruthless or twerky in the ring as ?El Chino? Maidana was, yet he was just as zeroed in on his goal. Once Adrien Broner was resigned to his eventual defeat, he did not raise his hands in victory once the bell sounded to end the bout. Furthermore, he came across as somewhat refined in his post-fight interview, perhaps due to the fact that he was on network television.
?I?m an animal and I?ll fight anyone,? he said afterwards. This was different from any animal, though. They usually hunt their prey as opposed to being fed and last Saturday night, he really had it handed to him. He?ll be back and he may try his hardest to make us believe that his second career defeat was yet another apparition of the senses. He?s not the heir apparent to Floyd Mayweather Jr. There is no such person. Floyd usually talks before, during and after his fights. Broner should give serious thought to the art of tact and saving the gibberish for when the work is really done for the day.
