by David P. Greisman
Adrien Broner went from beating one of Floyd Mayweather’s fighters to calling out Mayweather himself.
“Somebody that I look up to and admire took the chance to do an interview and talk bad about me,” Broner said shortly after defeating Ashley Theophane. “I don’t know how y’all look at it. I don’t like it. I’m a man that learned shit from physical activity. Floyd, you got to see me.”
Mayweather has been critical of Broner over the years due to Broner’s antics. And with Broner fighting Theophane on a Mayweather-promoted card — and then with Broner having an open warrant for his arrest due to allegedly assaulting and robbing a man, as well as Broner missing weight for the bout — Mayweather again took aim at Broner in interviews.
Broner clearly didn’t like that.
"Y'all probably know about this. Somebody I look up to, somebody that I admire, took the chance to do an interview and talk all bad about me. Now I don't know how y'all look at it, but I'm a man who learn sh*t from physical activity - so Floyd, you've got to come see me. You gotta see me, point blank period. I'm a man at the end of the day and I come from the streets, the trenches, I came from nothing, water and cornflakes. I will never let another man disrespect me. I don't care if we sparring or fighting. Let's get it on," Broner said.
In the interview that ticked Broner off, Mayweather took some very personal swings at his former friend.
"Adrien Broner, his nickname is 'The Problem'. I think he has a lot of problems. Adrien Broner was just an alcoholic six months ago. One thing I'm trying to find out about Adrien Broner, is he a boxing promoter, is he a rapper, is he a porn star, or is he a gangster?," Mayweather told Fighthype.com.
"He said 'Hateweather Promotions'; I'm still trying to find out what AB stands for. Always broke? I mean, that's what I thought AB stands for. Last year, I think Leonard made more money than Adrien Broner. He gave himself a 10-figure name: About Billions. We know he ain't never seen 8 figures or 9 figures. He's barely seen 7 figures. It could be safe to say that just one of my cars costs more than he made in his whole career."
"The thing is, this is honestly speaking, I think his first loss, didn't really come from Maidana. He really lost when he fought Daniel Ponce De Leon. We know he lost to Ponce De Leon. We know he lost to Shawn Porter. We know he got destroyed by Marcos Maidana. He fought Paulie Malignaggi when Paulie was 32 years old, almost 10 years older than he was, and when you look at the fight, you say to yourself, "If Paulie was a few years younger, Paulie would have beat Adrien." We know that a lot of Adrien Broner's opponents have been handpicked, and the ones that wasn't handpicked, he lost or he struggled. Ponce De Leon, he really lost. Shawn Porter, he really lost. Marcos Maidana, he lost. And then with Paulie, Paulie put up a good fight. If it was a few years earlier and you would have put them two in the squared circle, I think Paulie would have won."
Mayweather retired last year. He defeated Manny Pacquiao earlier in 2015 and then went out with a victory over Andre Berto. He’s said repeatedly that he won’t fight again. Broner is trying to convince him to change his mind.
Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
