Adrien Broner: It's Time For Me To Grow Up

by David P. Greisman

There’s been a pattern to Adrien Broner’s life for years. He shows talent inside of the ring, he shoots himself in the foot either in the ring or in life, and then he promises to grow up and focus on the sport.

Then it starts over again.

This time, Broner is making similar comments after a particularly tumultuous 2016.

Last year, he faced criminal charges for allegedly robbing and beating an acquaintance at gunpoint after betting over the outcome of their bowling matches against each other. He went to jail for contempt of court. He dropped his junior welterweight title on the scales. And he put out messages on social media that had many wondering whether he was considering harming himself.

“At the end of the day, some days you wake up and you’re not as happy. Some days you wake up and you’re feeling good. As of today, I'm in a very positive and good mindset,” Broner told Showtime’s Brian Custer in a televised interview. “I'm ready to take over the sport and do better, not only for myself but for my kids.”

He says the past is truly the past this time.

“I'm a lot older. I'm a lot more mature. It's time to wash my hands of a lot of the childish things I used to do,” Broner said. “It's time to grow up and be the role model and the icon that I am.”

His antics weren’t him trying to be something or someone he’s not, however, but rather were an extension of his personality.

“It's really not something I portray. It's me, at the end of the day,” Broner said.

But he says he’s working on it not being who he is.

“As of right now it's about being mature and growing,” Broner said. “It's time for me to really step up to the plate and take over the sport of boxing.”

Broner is 32-2 with 24 KOs. He will remain at 140 despite saying he couldn’t make the weight anymore after coming in overweight against Ashley Theophane last April. His next fight is against Adrian Granados on Feb. 18 in Cincinnati.

“I know from what type of fighter Granados is. I know it's going to be a tough fight, but at the end of the day every fight is tough,” Broner said. “As long as I’m well-prepared, and training camp s going great, it's going to be a great fight and an entertaining fight. I'm going to be victorious.”

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