?I?m still the same fresh, flashy, young, rich and famous guy. I?m a young man, and I respect every fighter, but??
The May 3 fight between Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas could have been called many things, but for unknown reasons it?s called THE MOMENT. Perhaps every time Mayweather fights it?s THE MOMENT, at least until he defeats his overmatched challenger, whereupon THE MOMENT becomes BUSINESS AS USUAL.
One of the highlights of THE MOMENT is a presumably stacked undercard. Amir Khan, who lost the Mayweather sweepstakes to Maidana, fights Luis Collazo. J?Leon Love fights Marco Antonio Periban. And last but not least, Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KOs), formerly known as The Problem, but now known as the man who got his ass whupped at the Alamodome, gets it on with Carlos Molina (17-1-1, 7 KOs).
In anticipation of his return to active duty, Broner recently met with the press via teleconference call and seems unchanged. His confidence is undiminished. The bluster is intact. He?s as cocky as ever.
?Everybody is looking for Adrien Broner to be this new humble guy,? the 24-year-old Cincinnati native said. ?Well, if you?re looking for Adrien Broner to be this new humble guy, you won?t get it. I?m still the same fresh, flashy, young, rich and famous guy. I?m a young man, and I respect every fighter, but I?m ready to fight. I?m happy Carlos Molina took this fight, but he might be looking to give me another loss. I hope he doesn?t come to lose, but he?s going to lose.?
Broner said much the same thing about Marcos Maidana. But Maidana came to fight. He also came to win. Broner may have taken Maidana lightly. By the sound of it, he won?t make the same mistake with Molina.
?He?s a hell of a fighter,? Broner said. ?I don?t disrespect no boxer. It takes a lot to get inside that square circle and I don?t take any boxer lightly. I just want him to be on his A-game May 3.?
The conference call was ostensibly and Q & A. But Broner seemed to duck as many questions as he answered. As an example, someone asked about his weight, which fluctuates dramatically between fights.
?We?re going to do what?s best for Adrien Broner?s career at that time,? he replied, referring to himself in the third-person. ?This is my first fight televised at 140 pounds, so we?re at 140 right now and we?re going to see where we go from here.?
Broner was asked what he learned from the fight with Maidana, a trick question if there ever was one, and why he was fighting 10 rounds instead of 12.
?Like I said, I?m going to fight and I don?t make the rules in my fights. I?m just a fighter. So, with that being said, all I?m doing is training hard and I?m getting ready for May 3.?
Returning to the fight with Maidana, which was glossed over in his last reply, Broner admitted, ?I had minor setback but I am back. Everybody needs to understand that I just took a loss. I haven?t lost it. I?m still The Problem and anyone can get it, whether you are African, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban or Mexican. Anybody taking a loss that I did, it would probably break them. But coming from where I come from, I?m strong mentally and physically so I?m okay.?
Returning to the subject of his weight, the fight is at 140 and not 147, Broner said, ?It?s really not a big change. For me, I?m naturally a lightweight. I can fight in the upper weight class. I?ve got the skills to do it. The weight at 140 was not a problem and being mentally sound is not a problem. I can hit regardless. It doesn?t matter what weight I fight. I can still hit.?
And be hit, I might add. If Maidana could catch him, if Malignaggi could catch him, if Gavin Rees could catch him, others will catch him as well. Floyd Mayweather, who no one catches, advised Broner to lay off Twitter and hip hop and focus on boxing.
?I?m going to do whatever makes Adrien Broner happy. Of course, I listen to my big brother a lot. We talk every day and he tells me things that aren?t on the Internet or not on the social website. He and I have a great understanding.?
When asked if he had any final thoughts, Broner expressed them.
?I?m really not here to talk trash because he (Molina) doesn?t talk trash, so I can?t talk trash to somebody that don?t talk trash to me. Like I said before, I just want him to be on his A-game because this is not only just a fight for me. This is one of the biggest fights in the world because literally they?re looking at me to take over the game after my big brother is done with boxing. Coming off a loss they want to see what I come back and do and they can?t wait to see me on TV again. I know there?s a lot of people that dislike the things that I do, but there?s a lot of people that love the things that I do and they want to see Adrien Broner back on top and I will not disappoint them and anybody who wants to see me.?
There were doubts that Broner would ?take over the game? before he fought Maidana, and those doubts were strengthened when El Chino handed Broner his first loss. He?s mistaken if he thinks this is one of the biggest fights in the world. But if it turns out to be one of the biggest fights in the world, the person who is mistaken is me. Follow us on Twitter@boxing_com to continue the discussion
