By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – One of the things Adrien Broner admires most about Floyd Mayweather Jr. is Mayweather’s work ethic.
No matter who Mayweather fights, the undefeated five-division champion takes training seriously. That consistent commitment to preparing properly is one of the traits that has enabled Mayweather (49-0, 26 KOs) to become the most successful fighter of this generation.
Cincinnati’s Broner (33-2, 24 KOs, 1 NC) wishes he had taken that completely professional approach to training during a nine-year career. Nevertheless, Broner realizes he can’t train for his July 29 fight against unbeaten Mikey Garcia the way he has gotten ready for some of his previous fights.
That’s why the former four-division champion returned to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to train for the Garcia bout, something he hadn’t done in four years.
“I’m actually happy I got a fight of this magnitude,” Broner said after a recent press conference, “because when you’re fighting – that’s why I tip my hat off to Floyd. Because no matter who he fight, he gets up and he trains like it’s the hardest fight of his life. He calls me and like, ‘I’m fittin’ to kick this guy ass.’ You know what I’m saying?
“But it’s tough. It’s hard. And you know, a fight like this, it got me training almost every day. You know what I’m saying? No days off. Even sometimes I’ve gotta make myself rest, like, ‘All right, I’m overdoing it.’ But I just wanna go out there and just put on a great performance for my fans.”
Broner, who’ll turn 28 the day before he faces Garcia (36-0, 30 KOs), knows this 12-round, 140-pound fight isn’t one he can afford to lose.
“You’ve got a three-time world champion [Garcia] and a four-time world champion,” Broner said. “He’s undefeated. He’s at the top of his game and I’m still at the top of the boxing game – one of the bigger, biggest names in boxing. And I just know after this fight, it’s only gonna bring more light and a bigger magnitude to my name.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.