Actually it started the minute he took the fight- but we’ll investigate a little further.
You see, “The Problem” with Adrien Broner is, he doesn’t know that he has a problem. After his very thorough ass-kicking and 12 round dismantling by the hands of ‘football player’ Shawn Porter, Broner had the audacity (through a symphony of disturbing boo’s mind you) to tell NBC cameras that people (eh-mm..) still want to ‘take pictures with me’ – AND – that he’ll ‘even take Shawn and his girlfriend out to eat’.
As he’s talking, all of a sudden, the microphone became one big mop handle that was then handed to Broner for him to play with. As 1000’s poured out of the MGM Grand last night in Las Vegas, they spit at him in a figurative sense before everyone decided to leave this loser behind. For after he concluded his remarks, it was as if he was left to clean up his own embarrassing disaster with unsaid instructions from his tormentor.
Oh yes, Broner’s ascension to Porter’s janitorial bitch was complete.
There would be no degrading brushing of his hair by a father he doesn’t deserve on Father’s Day. Instead, he was brushed aside and left to consider the remnants of a once promising career while not really having a division to compete in. Throughout the run-up to this fight, Broner’s penchant for fire, theater and all things asshole was evident, as he hurled insult after lower insult in the direction of Porter and his father with no regard for sportsmanship.
His decision to morph into (in his mind at least) Floyd Mayweather 2.0 backfired a long time ago, even before he got bamboozled and hoodwinked by Marcos Maidana. In a prescient moment of hilarious candor and rather personal foreboding, Paulie Malignaggi told us all the absolute truth about Broner 2 years ago (click on it, its hardcore) but we didn’t really listen. With that in mind, its unclear why Paulie actually predicted Broner would win last night. Pretty loud and very clear, however, was Floyd at ringside appearing a hybrid blend of visibly embarrassed/disappointed by Broner’s performance.
This is how we felt about the abysmal performance of referee Tony Weeks, who did nothing to remind us of the late (and truly great) Frank Cappuccino. He got control of fighters like Mike Tyson in a way that the ballsy Mills Lane took to another level. Weeks was, well, weak in there last night, as he allowed Broner to excessively hold Porter in point deductible ways by round 3. It made any observer wonder if he wasn’t on some sort of payroll to favor Broner as much as possible.
Porter, despite being drained to 144 and not allowed to rehydrate beyond 154, was still able to physically manhandle Broner for large portions of the fight. Showtime’s Steve Farhood, showing the need for a possible cataract examination, was finding ways to give Broner rounds to make things interesting.
It wasn’t- we had it 118-110 Porter.
This fight was as one-sided as a relationship with a Las Vegas hooker, who probably couldn’t be paid to find rounds Broner won. Every 3-minute stanza offered the same thing, as Porter would walk through occasional Broner straight rights or jabs, with thunderous body shots and violent torrents to the head in between being “bodied” by an Octopus-like Broner.
Porter, fighting and looking like a modern version of Leon Spinks, couldn’t really be blamed if he folded down the stretch due to being groped and fouled so much in the process of mugging Broner. Weeks “finally” took a point from Broner in the 11th after an obvious hand shove to the face after another excessive hold. The resulting flash knockdown in round 12 by Broner had as much to do with fatigue and a momentary lack of focus than anything else. Had this been a regular contest of 147, its conceivable that Porter stops Broner inside of 10 rounds.
While Porter can now exercise elite welterweight options, Broner now becomes a “sidepiece” option for Al Haymon to play with. Rising monster Errol Spence Jr., who ate Sicilian Phil Lo Greco like he was a bowl of al dente pasta on the undercard, could be served up next for Broner, which would effectively finish him for sure. Broner is now in a purgatory of sorts as he doesn’t really have a division that suits him. He can’t make 140 and he can’t really compete at the elite 147lb level. As a non-champion who’s been a non-factor in big fights, he can’t call any shots at all and will have to take whatever he can get.
If anyone ever envied “About Billions” (whose nickname could very well be closer to what Ken Porter characterized as “About Broke” very soon), its really hard to imagine that now. No one ever really envies a loser, especially one devoid of character. For Shawn Porter, who was raised with too much character to stoop to Broner-like poop, it certainly must have been gratifying to shove Broner’s face in his own before making him step in it.
If Broner’s lucky, one day he’ll turn into a Porter.
