LAS VEGAS — “You can say that Adrien Broner is my toughest opponent.”
You might expect those words to come out of the mouth of Manny Pacquiao, who will face Broner on Showtime PPV, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night in Las Vegas. But Pacquiao didn’t utter those words. As a matter of fact, Pacquiao ranked Broner as his “seventh or eighth” toughest opponent heading into their Jan. 19 clash.
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Those words came from the mouth of Adrien Broner, who told Sporting News that the biggest hurdle to achieving greatness has been figuring out how to overcome the self-inflicted obstacles he has placed in front of himself. And as much as “The Problem” has been a problem outside of the ring, what transpires when the bell rings is just as significant.
“In my losses it isn’t about what my opponents did,” he continued. “It’s always about what I didn’t do.”
And what he hasn’t done is exactly what has plagued him in recent performances. The talent has always been there, but for whatever reason, Broner has yet to put it all together inside of the ring.
“I don’t think [I’ve shown all that I can do],” he continued. “My team has seen me do so much in the gym. They know what I can do, but sometimes in the fight I don’t lay it all out there.
“You haven’t seen me at my absolute best. You’ve only seen some good performances.”
Broner looked visibly agitated as he addressed a small group of journalists earlier in the week. Although he managed to punch in his off-color humor in spurts, it was evident that what he’s up against was weighing heavy on him. A victory would likely erase his history of uneven performances. However, a loss would almost certainly relegate him to gatekeeper status and he’ll become little more than a name for a young, up and comer to place on their resume.
Whether he likes it or not, the term “uneven” has encompassed the entirety of his career.
A promising talent that turned pro over a decade ago, Broner had high expectations placed on him from the moment he fought under the bright lights of Las Vegas on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s one-sided demolition of Oscar De La Hoya in 2008. Even though it was only his fifth professional fight, “The Problem” had his sights set on Pacquiao.
As he rampaged through weight classes, praise was heaped on Broner. Some thought he would be the successor to Floyd Mayweather Jr. due to his fast hands and slick mouth. Broner knew how to promote himself and kept fans engaged with one exceptional performance after another.
But then the distractions outside of the ring began to creep into his career. Legal issues mounted, while Broner refused to shy away from controversy. Meanwhile, the talent level of his opponents began to increase. Eventually, he’d have to change his approach as a potshot counterpuncher, who relied on his reflexes to win fights. But as long as he kept winning, these repeated transgressions could be forgiven and he could rely solely on his talent.
And then came Marcos Maidana.
Broner decided to jump up two weight classes in 2013. After eking out a split decision against Paulie Malignaggi to claim the WBA welterweight title, AB stepped into the ring with the hard-hitting Argentinean. No longer could he pick his spots as he did against previous opponents. Maidana got off to a quick start and never took his foot off the gas. The end result was Broner tasting the canvas twice and losing by unanimous decision.
In retrospect, Broner says he needed that loss to humble him.
“It helped me,” Broner said. “It slowed me down a little bit. If I won that Maidana fight I’d probably be dead right now. I was moving so fast. God works in mysterious ways, though. I think he showed me that I had to chill out.”
The idea that Broner “slowed down” is relative to how fast he was living. The legal issues and controversies continued to pile up, while a blueprint was laid on how to beat Broner. Activity and a skilled use of aggression would put Broner in a hole early. By the time he realized that he needed to fight, it was too late. He tasted defeat twice more against Shawn Porter and Mikey Garcia, while battling Jessie Vargas to a draw in his last fight. The narrative remained the same: Broner starts off slow as his opponents rack up the rounds due to activity. By the time Broner commits himself to stepping on the gas, the fight is already decided.
That strategy can work against a lesser fighter, but has cost him against higher-caliber opponents. Meanwhile, the antics outside of the ring have remained an issue and, strangely enough, have helped him land this fight against Pacquiao.
“I’m back here and right where I’m supposed to be,” Broner said. “My name still kept growing even after that loss.”
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And this is Adrien Broner's greatest gift and most devastating curse.
To put it in perspective, Broner was soundly beaten by current WBC champion Shawn Porter back in June 2015. But while Broner will get his first pay-per-view fight with Pacquiao, despite being 0-1-1 in his last two fights, Porter will face relatively-unknown Yordenis Ugas on May 9th in a bout that won’t garner nearly as much mainstream interest as this weekend’s clash with "Pac Man."
Who Broner was outside of the ring had superseded his talent inside of it. In some ways, he's more of an attraction than a fighter.
Nevertheless, Broner feels that he's learned from his losses and previous transgressions. Although he thought he was ready for the moment then, he truly believes that the time is now for Broner to step into the spotlight and prove that he's as good as everyone expected him to be.
“Time is the perfect remedy for everything,” Broner told Sporting News. “It’s the perfect time for this fight and for me to take over the sport of boxing. It wasn’t time back then, but it is time now. I have to take advantage of it.”
As much as this is about beating Pacquiao, it’s really about Broner overcoming himself. There’s rarely been a question regarding Broner’s talent and athletic ability. But the issues arise when the bell rings.
In a sense, he’s become the opposite of Zab Judah, who was notoriously known as a frontrunner who faded late in fights. Broner is a fighter who waits far too long to get started, but showcases his undeniable talent as the fight progresses. Unfortunately, by then, it’s too little, too late. His 12th round knockdown against Porter and his late surge against Vargas were both impressive, but they left fans questioning why he can’t get revved up earlier. Why does he put himself behind on the scorecards early and then steps up when the fight is nearly out of hand?
It may be difficult, but forget his outside-of-the-ring transgressions for a moment. Forget about his legal issues and the cloud of controversy that cast a massive shadow over his career. As Broner continuously repeats, a victory over Pacquiao will signal a new beginning for the 29-year-old.
“This will start another chapter in my book,” said Broner. “It’s only up from here. After this win, it puts me back to where I should have been years ago. But it all starts on January 19th.”
And all he has to do is figure out how to conquer his own issues.
