From a pure impartial and unbiased boxing perspective, Adrien Broner has had an excellent career. The youngest fighter ever to win world titles in four different weight divisions, Broner was on the path to possibly be one of the all-time greats. At 29 years old, Broner still has plenty of boxing left in him and plenty of time to write his own ending. As his team meets with PBC boss Al Haymon today, the future for Adrien Broner will be mapped out.
BRONER’S PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
The question is, coming off of his recent loss to Manny Pacquiao on January 19 in Las Vegas and a 3-3-1 record in his most recent seven fights, how does Broner redeem and reinvent himself and still be looked at as one of the top talents in the sport? We already know Broner is a top draw. That is indisputable. Think what you like, but fans tune in to see Broner. Whether they’re tuning in to see him win or tuning in to see him lose, it doesn’t matter. They’re still tuning in. Don’t be fooled either, Broner knows this. This is why I might take flak for saying the following, but Broner has been masterful in the category of self-promotion and event promotion. The reported 400,000 pay-per-view buys were not generated from Pacquaio alone. Broner played a large part in that viewership investing their hard earned money to watch that fight. Let’s face it, the fans got what they paid for. They got the pre-fight hype and unpredictable behavior from Broner that they love to hate. They also received the post-fight interview that they were expecting and even the media received their tongue lashing at the post-fight press conference. Anything less from Broner and the fans and media would have felt cheated. This is what I mean when I say that Broner knows exactly what he’s doing and so does Showtime. Showtime Sports president, Stephen Espinoza knows exactly what he has in Broner and if he didn’t like Broner or better yet, value Broner, he wouldn’t be posting pictures on Twitter of the two of them at the Super Bowl like old pals.
View image on Twitter
Stephen Espinoza ✔ @StephenEspinoza Look who I found at #SuperBowl @AdrienBroner
135 10:58 AM – Feb 4, 2019 ? Atlanta, GA 48 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy
Even in losing, Broner continues to win. Make no mistake about it, fans don’t want to hear Broner say that he lost that fight because they don’t want to like him. Even if deep down inside he knows it. Remember, yes it’s a sport. But’s it’s also entertainment and Broner understands that. He owns the social media game and knows what’s going to get a rise out of the public. It only keeps him more relevant. Oh, and if you think I thought Broner won on January 19, then you’re wrong as I live-blogged the fight on Forbes just feet from the ring and clearly had Pacquiao winning on my unofficial scorecard.
ENTER KEITH THURMAN
You know the saying, timing is everything? Well in this case, it couldn’t be any better for Adrien Broner. We’d all be fooling ourselves if we thought that the Keith Thurman that fought Josesito Lopez in January was the same Keith Thurman that two years ago was considered the top welterweight in the division. Although Thurman needed to get back in the ring and a get a win, call it ring-rust, call it an off night, but although he did what he had to do to win and was seemingly in control for the majority of the fight, Thurman was still a bit off.
