I?ve never been one to don a holier-than-thou attitude which elevates myself above that of my peers, or at least I?d like to believe that notion. As a general rule, I abhor fraudulent displays of piousness, from the sports media, as nothing more than desk jockeys pontificating on athletic behavior that they too would be playing out, had they been given the same athletic prowess and possessed the work ethic to achieve their sports dreams. Athletes are humans; flawed creatures who?s malfeasances should not be held to a higher standard than the rest of us mortals, simply because they possess a better physique. It?s with that tidbit that I tread upon the subject of former super featherweight titlist Adrien Broner, and condemn his latest actions with a clear and lucid animus. His latest actions, which included his repeated failures to make weight, while flaunting the fact that he frankly didn?t give a damn about upholding his word, go beyond the norms of standard decency and trail into a cretinous disrespect for the sport which has earned him a solid living, those men that occupy that terrain, and the lives of those who look up to him as model. Adrien is most certainly a ?problem?.
Adrien Broner?s past transgressions have mostly danced upon the psychological realms of hubris and narcissism. A kid beaming with a desire to be liked and noticed, regardless of how he accomplishes those pithy achievements: his infamous demand for his father to ?brush his hair? while granting a post-fight interview, his obnoxious post-fight victory dances that more closely resemble a Seminole War Dance on crank, and his incessant self-promotion via Twitter. It?s all grating, but hardly reason enough to condemn a young kid, who is simply an athlete, not a man desiring to be a political leader.
That was until Friday when Broner sauntered into the pre-fight weigh-ins with the bluster of a Corsican pimp, all smiles as he prepared to deliver an emphatic knockout to any semblance of credibility that he maintained. While his opponent, Vicente Escobedo, had no issue in living up to his end of the weight bargain, Broner proudly wore all 133.5 lbs that registered on the scale, three and a half over the contracted weight, and then proceeded to gulp down water, demonstrating that he did not plan to try to make weight later in the day. Broner, his accomplices at HBO, and manager Al Haymon, quickly rectified the situation and the fight was allowed to proceed after Broner was forced to pay a sixty thousand dollar fine, of which Escobedo received thirty thousand.
Broner, unflappable in his arrogance towards the unprofessional display he had delivered, offered a meek explanation that he had grown out of his body. A cowardly explanation that omitted the fact that, through training camp, Broner would regularly tweet pictures of junk food that he had been consuming ? Twinkies, Twix, and other high-caloric treats ? as an odious taunt to his opponent. He claimed such foods wouldn?t cause him to gain weight, all the while wearing the grin of a Cheshire cat who knew he was getting away with an obvious scheme.
The farce would not end with this initial abortion, however, but would be taken to the umpteenth degree, on Saturday, when he failed to make the weight of 140lbs, 10 over the contracted weight, that had been agreed upon after his initial failings. All 143.5 of Adrien Broner shined a light upon a young man who has no respect for anyone but himself. Yet again, Adrien Broner had displayed that he lacked any hint of honesty in his body as he showed his opponent the type of decency that?s laid upon a marauder. Escobedo, incredulous over the serial lack of professionalism emanating from Broner, was prepared to walk away from the fight and cancel the entire HBO telecast, but ultimately Broner?s super manager, Al Haymon, stepped in and offered a tidy sum of blood money to Escobedo, meanwhile his charge scarfed down junk food like a glutenous vulture.
Escobedo, who recently had a child, took the money with little avenue of recourse for this appalling behavior. Broner had lost his title, but still needed a body to pad his ever growing record and HBO needed a fight to air. Escobedo, likely facing his last chance at a career payday and a looming blackball from HBO had he turned down the offer, walked proudly into the ring Saturday for a massacre that was inevitable.
Broner tore through Escobedo like many large men would if facing a significantly smaller man. Slapping Escobedo around like a small toy at the whim of a ravenous pitbull, Broner proved nothing to a still skeptical boxing public, who remember the struggles he had against Daniel Ponce De Leon. This victory and performance will be a fine addition to a highlight reel, just as long as said video doesn?t include an asterisk explaining the truly deplorable manner in which this fight came about; a profound mismatch that pays tribute to the monied interests of boxing, Broner is a have and Escobedo is a have-not. The Cincinnati native is a talented young prodigy, who could be great, but that?s not the lesson that we must take from this story.
We walk away with a sour taste in our mouth because the entire affair reeked of the preordained scripting that?s pervasive through professional wrestling. Al Haymon took upon the role of Vince McMahon, orchestrating a wanton display of punishment that?s outcome was all but finalized prior to the event. HBO, the industry leader, went along with this buffoonery because the sea has changed in the sport and they have no plans of being caught on the losing side of the tide. No longer are they the sole kingmaker, but rather an enabler at the whim of boxing?s new super power, the reclusive lawyer and music mogul named Al Haymon. Haymon picked Adrien Broner as a chosen one, and HBO is expected to play along if they plan on ever seeing another Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight, that?s the power he reaps. Play along with my chicanery, and maybe you?ll see Floyd Mayweather in the fall. This is boxing in 2012. Pardon the pun, but Adrien Broner is a symbolic problem of what this sport has become: Arrogant, Predetermined, and Indefensible. Shame on all involved.
