By Jake Donovan
The show might go on for Adrien Broner, but the troubled super lightweight titlist has much more to worry about than his upcoming April 1 showdown with Ashley Theophane.
At present moment, there is no indication of the aforementioned bout being pulled from a planned Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Spike TV telecast, despite recent legal issues that have come to light for Broner. As previously reported on BoxingScene.com through TMZ Sports, a warrant is out for his arrest, with the 26-year old boxer from Cincinnati ordered to surrender to authorities in Hamilton County, Ohio.
Cincinnati city police officials declined comment to BoxingScene.com, as the arrest warrant is not yet a matter of public record or even yet filed on the court docket. However, the matter is also the subject of an active civil lawsuit filed on February 6 by the legal team representing Christopher Carson, an acquaintance of Broner and the victim in question, according to Courthouse News.
The court order stems from an incident to have allegedly taken place in the early morning of January 21 at Madison Bowl, a Cincinnati bowling alley often frequented by Broner.
According to court documents, Broner and Carson – described as an acquaintance of Broner for the past two years or so – were engaged in a series of bowling matches in two-man team format against one another during the evening of January 20.
During each team match, Broner and Carson allegedly would make a side bet, ranging from $500 to $2,000. Broner’s losses reached $8,000 in cash on hand along with another $6,000 in credit (meaning, a man’s word that he would pay back the money owed).
As described by Carson through his legal team in the filed lawsuit, Broner then attempted to make one more bet of $6,000 in efforts to clear the credit amount owed upon announcement of last call at the bowling alley before closing down for the night. The offer was countered with a smaller wager of $3,000, to which Broner allegedly rejected before storming out of the bowling alley, at which point the incident – and their acquaintance – took a serious turn for the worse.
Carson left the bowling alley at around 3:00 a.m. (officially January 21, 2016 by that point), only to have allegedly encountered Broner, who was accompanied by eight unnamed individuals. A violent argument ensued, with the boxer demanding that his acquaintance give him back the $8,000 in cash. Carson claims that his refusal to do so prompted Broner to punch him in the neck/chin area, splitting Carson’s chin as well as a tooth.
From there, Broner went to a vehicle and retrieved a 9mm handgun, at which point the gathered crowd in the parking lot scattered. Carson attempted to plea his way out of the the incident, raising his arms in surrender mode, only to allegedly have been struck a second time by Broner, knocking him unconscious.
The existing lawsuit alleges that Broner then reached into Carson’s pockets, extracting $10,000 in cash – the $8,000 he lost plus another $2,000 in the victim’s possession. The lawsuit does not indicate a witness to the incident; however one has since surfaced, thus prompting the arrest warrant after a lengthy investigation conducted by law enforcement officials.
Upon regaining consciousness, Carson discovered he had been robbed and injured, opting to head to the emergency room for treatment of such injuries in lieu of reporting the incident to the local authorities. The matter made its way to law enforcement - and thus presenting grounds for an arrest warrant - once proof was allegedly offered in the form of video evidence as well as what the warrant described as a detailed account of events provided by credible witnesses.
At the time of the filed lawsuit, Broner (31-2, 23KOs) had already relocated his training camp from Cincinnati to HeadBangers Gym in Washington D.C. - not because of the incident, but simply because of the timing in his gym schedule. The dual-site training ritual has become commonplace for Broner and his gym mates in the past couple of years, as it allows him to train under the tutelage of his longtime cornerman Mike Stafford as well as D.C.-based top trainer Barry Hunter.
Broner remains in camp in D.C. for the forthcoming title fight with Theophane (39-6-1, 11KOs), although such a bout – and perhaps now the show in general – is in limbo.
Should the main event remain intact, Broner will make the first defense of the super lightweight title he claimed with a 12th round knockout of Khabib Allakhverdiev last October in Cincinnati. He previously held titles at super featherweight, lightweight and welterweight The latter reign in a 12-round decision loss to Marcos Maidana, prompting him to drop down to the super lightweight division he passed over in favor of a more lucrative run at welterweight.
Broner is presently 4-0 in the 140 lb. division, but suffered a 12-round loss to former welterweight titlist Shawn Porter in their NBC-televised 144-pound catchweight bout last June.
Theophane – who hails from England but trains out of the Mayweather Boxing Gym in Las Vegas – enters his first career title shot. The hard-luck contender signed with Mayweather Promotions more than two years ago, losing his first fight while as a member of “TMT” (The Money Team), but having since won his past five starts. His most recent win came last September, scoring a unanimous decision over Steven Upsher Chambers.
Whether or not the fight happens depends on the state limitations carried by the existing arrest warrant. Felony murders are free of restriction, thus allowing law enforcement officials to cross state lines in apprehending said suspect. The warrant in place could be limited to Ohio state or even Hamilton County jurisdiction, in which case Broner could not be apprehended until he turned himself in upon arriving back in his home state.
Law enforcement in the greater D.C. area have been made aware of the existing warrant in place, but declined official comment on the subject.
The supporting cast features Broner’s training teammate, unbeaten lightweight prospect Robert Easter Jr. – who hails from Toledo, Ohio but trains in Cincinnati (and D.C.) - in a crossroads bout versus former 130-pound titlist Algenis Mendez, as well as Baltimore’s unbeaten super featherweight prospect on the rise, Gervonta Davis in a clash versus Mexico’s Guillermo Avila.
Both bouts along with the announced undercard – including local favorite Anthony Peterson along with a slew of other D.C.-based prospects as well as mid-level super middleweight contender J’Leon Love – are strong enough to carry on in the event that the main event is scrapped. However, said show would take a major hit with the presence of Broner’s star power.
As charges of felony assault and aggravated robbery loom overhead, it remains to be seen how Broner and PBC brass proceed. A brief statement offered through the public relations office at PBC – who is not taking the incident lightly, but at the same time remaining non-committal pending further information - noted that “we don’t have any information (at this time) other than what police are saying… it’s a legal matter that Broner will have to handle with his legal team.”
The alleged incident in question adds to a long list of run-ins with the law for Broner. A history of legal troubles date back to his youth spent as a gifted amateur boxer whose full talent was never maximized due to an inability to get out of his own way.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox