Theophane: Mayweather Believes I Can Beat Broner

by David P. Greisman

Floyd Mayweather spoke with Ashley Theophane last year in the time before Mayweather’s final fight. While Mayweather was preparing to hang up his gloves with a bout against Andre Berto, he was also thinking as a promoter, thinking about what could come soon for Theophane, one of the fighters in his stable.

What could come soon, Mayweather told him, was a bout with Adrien Broner.

Then Broner won a junior-welterweight title and used his post-fight interview to call out Theophane. That was in October 2015. Broner-Theophane will take place on April 1, 2016, at the D.C. Armory in Washington, D.C., and airing on Spike TV.

“I got this fight because Floyd Mayweather believes I can win,” Theophane said at a recent press conference.

Mayweather knows Theophane well, not just as his promoter but also from sparring.

“Ashley Theophane, this guy has pushed me to the limit,” Mayweather said. “This guy is not going to lay down. This guy is not going to quit.”

That confidence inspires Theophane.

“I’m representing Floyd. Floyd ain’t going to fight him. Floyd believes I can win. That’s the reason why this fight is going down,” Theophane said. “He’s like a mentor. Just words. He’s retired now. So anything is just motivational words, just helping with the game plan and stuff. Floyd is one of the smartest, if not the smartest boxer ever. There’s knowledge he can give that you can’t get from no one else.”

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