Floyd Mayweather Jr.?s company is one of the co-promoters of Adrien Broner?s showdown with Mikey Garcia on Saturday night.
Broner isn?t nearly as interested in promoting Mayweather?s upcoming fight. The out-spoken Broner refused to discuss Mayweather?s pay-per-view extravaganza against Conor McGregor when he was asked about it during a segment on ESPN?s ?First Take,? which aired live Wednesday.
?I don?t wanna talk about that, to be honest,? Broner said. ?No disrespect to Floyd or McGregor, but I don?t make no money from that. And at the end of the day, when I?m down and out, and in need, I mean, I can call Floyd. But at the end of the day, I ain?t lookin? for them to back me and use they money. So at the end of the day, I?m worried about Adrien Broner and Mikey Garcia.?
When asked if their perceived mismatch would do damage to boxing, Broner still wouldn?t participate.
?Man, I don?t care what it do for boxing,? Broner said. ?What I know is all I?ve gotta do is do what I?ve gotta do and boxing?s gonna be OK.?
Broner?s brutally honest comments were somewhat surprising considering the Cincinnati native?s close relationship with Mayweather. The former four-division champion often has called Mayweather a ?big brother? and a ?mentor,? and credits the undefeated superstar with helping him through an especially difficult time in his life last October.
Garcia was much more diplomatic in discussing Mayweather?s return from nearly a two-year retirement August 26 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (Showtime Pay-Per-View; $99.95 in HD).
?That?s gonna be a great, entertaining show,? Garcia said. ?You?re putting two great sports persons together, who can get both fans on both sides of sports to merge together and maybe get more fans for both sports. But the fight itself, I think Floyd is a hundred-percent better fighter in every way. And that?s not much of a fight in itself that way, when you compare skill level.?
Broner (33-2, 24 KOs, 1 NC) and Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs) traveled to ESPN?s headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, on Wednesday to promote their 12-round, 140-pound main event on Saturday night at Barclays Center. Showtime will televise the Garcia-Broner bout as the main event of a doubleheader set to start at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
