Two weeks after admitting Adrien Broner?s failure to knock out Paulie Malignaggi disappointed him, Floyd Mayweather Jr. made it clear how he feels about Broner being carefully constructed into a star.
?With Broner, I think they?re moving him slow,? Mayweather said while he was a guest Monday with DJ Whoo Kid. ?They?re taking their time. They know what opponents to choose for him. But that was a great victory for him against Malignaggi. But Malignaggi, he?s a hell of a boxer. I like Broner. That?s my little brother. I like Broner, a young champion on the rise.?
After some back and forth with the host, Mayweather added, ?But Broner?s a great young guy. He has a lot to learn. He has a lot to learn, but he?s a great young kid. I?m a veteran. I?ve been around the sport 17 years, dominating.?
The unbeaten Broner became a three-division champion at the age of 23 when the Cincinnati native defeated Malignaggi (32-5, 7 KOs) by split decision in their 12-round fight for the WBA welterweight title June 22 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Mayweather, considered by Broner to be a ?big brother? and ?mentor,? watched the fight from a ringside seat. Two days later, however, Mayweather surprised some reporters and boxing observers when he criticized Broner?s performance during the first stop on a 10-city, nine-day tour to promote his Sept. 14 fight against Mexican star Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez (42-0-1, 30 KOs).
?I?m proud of Adrien Broner?s victory,? Mayweather told reporters in a ballroom in a Times Square hotel June 24. ?There?s a lot of things he still has to learn. Me personally, I feel that he should?ve got the knockout.?
The 36-year-old Mayweather (44-0, 26 KOs) and Broner (27-0, 22 KOs) have repeatedly stated that they won?t even consider fighting each other, despite that they?re both undefeated welterweight champions. Mayweather wasn?t subtle, though, in assessing the ascension of a developing champion that some might consider competition for boxing?s pound-for-pound king.
?I just feel like with my career, a lot of times they try to compare the two,? Mayweather said. ?I love the kid, but you?ve got to realize, just look at my career. I already fought a guy that was so crafty in Genaro Hernandez at 21 years old. I feel like in the sport of boxing now, a lot of these guys are fighting guys that?s handpicked, which I understand because this is a business, also.?
