COMMENTARY | Most truly informed fans recognized the fact that Adrien Broner was missing a few key ingredients in his effort to duplicate the Floyd Mayweather rise to boxing super-stardom.
In the ring, Broner was quick, athletic and, just like Mayweather, utilized the shoulder roll defense. Unlike Mayweather, though, that shoulder roll was not backed up by a hard-earned genius-level ring IQ and total dedication to the art of boxing angles and timing.
Outside the ring, Broner was abrasive, arrogant, and appearing to laugh at the audience rather than with them. By comparison, Mayweather’s VIP, money-raining parties seemed to be open to anyone willing to drink the Mayweather Kool-Aid.
Fans have been willing to cut Mayweather slack on many things because, at the heart of the hype, Mayweather seems like a decent enough guy with the proper amount of hard work invested into his great success. Broner, on the other hand, has been roasted alive ever since losing decisively to Marcos Maidana on December 14.
So, who better to fine-tune Broner than Mayweather, himself? Who better to put “The Problem” on the right road?
Mayweather recently had a lot to say about Broner and what the future may hold for the 24-year-old former three-division world champ.
“I don’t think he should be focused on chasing the Maidana fight,” Mayweather told Ben Thompson of Fighthype.com. “I think what would be a good move for him is this. May 3rd, fight on my undercard; you know, fight a solid guy at 140, get back on track and get your career in order. That fight with Maidana should be nothing but a minor setback for a major comeback. But as far as Adrien is concerned, he still has a lot to learn. When I spoke to him after his fight, I said you’re gonna have people that like you; you’re gonna have people that dislike you. The thing is this, I have fans that like me and I have fans that don’t like, but you gonna respect me. Once people get to throwing bottles and throwing beer on you, throwing different things at you at the fight, you’re losing respect from the fans.”
As for the effects of the high-profile loss on Broner, Mayweather, who has a mad love affair with his own undefeated record, didn’t seem to think that one loss meant all that much in the grand scheme of things.
“To be honest, the loss made him more famous. The loss brought him more notoriety. So like I said before, fame can be a gift and a curse. Now, it’s a gift. It brought him more notoriety…Look at this as a plus because you’re something to talk about. So whatever you done in your career, you done something right because everybody talked about you; all this week, everybody been talking about nothing but Adrien Broner, so whatever Adrien Broner has been doing, he’s been doing something right because that’s all you been hearing about.
“I just feel like this, the majority of the people that made a video or put something on Instagram or Twitter about Adrien Broner, well you show me where you made millions on a Saturday night,” Mayweather continued. “You show me where you got a seven-figure check. Everybody that had something negative to say about Adrien Broner on December 14th, he got a seven-figure check. There’s a lot of people out here getting they [expletive] kicked for free; for nothing. If you is going to take an L, it don’t hurt to take an L for a seven-figure check….All in all, Adrien Broner’s good outweighs his bad.”
It would be wise for Broner to take heed of any advice given to him by Mayweather.
The five-division world champ is not only at the top of his game in the ring, virtually untouchable by even the best in the sport, but he has walked the line between hated and respected for years, cashing in on his strange love-hate affair with fans to claim the sport’s biggest paydays. Adrien Broner is still young enough to bounce back and have a stellar career, but only if he can learn a few extremely important life lessons from his idol.
