Adrien Broner has repeatedly demanded a $10 million payday in order to bring him out of his claimed retirement.
That asking price appears to have been reduced thanks to a single social media reply from Oscar de la Hoya.
Their paths recently crossed online, both replying to a photo posted by unbeaten welterweight Vergil Ortiz Jr. on his verified Instagram account. The image was of a teenaged version of Ortiz posing with Broner roughly six years ago, with the accompanying description also gauging interest in a head-on collision between the two.
“I always had a lot of respect for Broner for inviting me and @hectorbeltranjr to take a picture with him when Mike Tyson ignored us,” noted Ortiz (15-0, 15KOs), the reigning Prospect of the Year and now welterweight title hopeful. “Who would like to see this fight?”
Many favorably responded to the post. Among them was de la Hoya, whose Golden Boy Promotions has promoted Ortiz since his July 2016 pro debut.
“Easy dinero,” de la Hoya replied.
Those two words were enough for Broner, a former four-division titlist and now full-time hip-hop recording artist to consider the proposal.
“Hell of a pick [sic] bro and I f--k with you too @vergilortiz,” replied Broner (33-4-1, 24KOs). “[B]ut @oscardelahoya I will come out of retirement and smoke yo boy since you co-signing pics.
“[A]fter the fight I got an ounce of soft for you.”
Broner—who turns 31 in July—has just one win during the entirety of Ortiz’s four-year career—a 10-round decision over Adrian Granados in their February 2017 non-title fight in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. A three-fight winless streak has since ensued: a 12-round loss to then-unbeaten Mikey Garcia in July 2017; a majority decision draw with former two-division titlist Jessie Vargas in April 2018; and a 12-round unanimous decision loss to legendary Filipino southpaw Manny Pacquiao last January.
In recent time, Broner has claimed to be done with the sport altogether, with his desired career choices ranging from “selling bricks” to making studio hits.
Ortiz claimed four wins—all inside the distance—in an award-winning 2019 campaign, including a 5th round stoppage of Brad Solomon last December. The 22-year old from Grand Prairie, Texas was due to face Samuel Vargas this past March at The Forum in Inglewood, California, only for their bout and the card as a whole to get canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox