By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – There were times when Adrien Broner and the superstar he long has considered a “big brother” were at odds.

It even seemed at one point that the damage done to Broner’s fractured relationship with Floyd Mayweather Jr. was irreparable. When Broner needed Mayweather most, however, Mayweather helped him through his darkest days.

In October, Broner scared those that care about him by insinuating on Instagram that he was having suicidal thoughts. Broner had a difficult year, in which he was charged with felony assault and aggravated robbery stemming from a January 2016 incident at a bowling alley in his native Cincinnati, served 30 days in jail last summer for appearing late to a trial appearance and fought just once.

The former four-division champion visited Mayweather in Las Vegas soon after making those aforementioned Instagram posts. The time they spent together enabled Broner to get his head straight and re-focus on his boxing career.

“It was a big influence,” Broner said recently regarding how much Mayweather helped him through an extremely tough time. “We done had our rough times, but the last time we been together we really smoothed everything out and he got me thinking more as a grown man. You know, I was doing a lot of childish things. I had big responsibilities. I was still acting like a kid. And now it’s really time to grow up and grasp everything that I’ve got going on.”

Broner (32-2, 24 KOs) will return to the ring Saturday night. He’ll square off in a 12-round welterweight fight against Adrian Granados (18-4-2, 12 KOs) at Xavier University’s Cintas Center in Cincinnati.

Showtime will televise the Broner-Granados fight as the main event of a tripleheader scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Broner’s return – his first fight since stopping England’s Ashley Theophane in the ninth round April 1 in Washington, D.C. – will come just four months following his suicide scare.

Among the alarming messages posted October 12, Broner wrote: 3 PM I’m doing it. I’m sorry to my family and friends but I don’t want to be here no more this sh*t too much

Another message, which included a photo of a gun, read: I’m going home I love y’all

The Cincinnati Police Department, which checked on the troubled boxer at the request of friends, confirmed later that day that Broner was safe. Soon thereafter, Mayweather welcomed Broner to come spend some time with him in Las Vegas.

Broner stayed at Mayweather’s mansion, hung out with the retired five-division champion all over Las Vegas and spent plenty of time talking to Mayweather about what was bothering him. Mayweather also has endured very public struggles and spent two months in jail during the prime of his career, thus his advice meant much more to Broner than most.

Mayweather’s company is co-promoting Saturday’s card along with Broner’s About Billions Promotions. The 27-year-old Broner reiterated on a conference call last week how much Mayweather, 39, has had a positive impact during his recent turnaround.

“I was young,” Broner said. “I’m pretty sure a lot of people who’ve been as successful as me, or even more successful than I am today, been through a lot of the same things. I know one person that have – and that’s Floyd Mayweather. He tells me all the time, ‘You’re gonna be OK. I’ve done some of the things you’ve done before. But it’s all about learning from your situations.’ And that’s what I’m doing. I’m learning from my situations. And now it’s just time to grow up.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.