by David P. Greisman
Oscar De La Hoya sees great talent in Adrien Broner. Or, rather, talents.
"Broner, to me, is Floyd Mayweather, [Bernard] Hopkins, myself — you can name them all — all wrapped into one,” De La Hoya said at the post-fight press conference shortly after Broner dispatched of Antonio DeMarco in Atlantic City. “He can box. He can stay in front of you. He likes to fight.”
De La Hoya said Broner’s performance showed him to be a special fighter.
“He fought a guy in DeMarco who had no quit in his game,” De La Hoya said. “I think he was the best 135-pounder in the division. So what does he do now? Does he stay at 135? Does he go up to 140? I think he can go up to 154. That’s how special he is. The great thing about Broner is he’ll fight anybody. It’ll be a lot of fun to work with Broner for years to come.
“From what I saw tonight, who else can he fight at 135 that’s going to give him a challenge? Yeah, he can unify if he wants to. He should just fight the very best. He’s ready for it. But there’s a plan. We have to go and sit down with the whole team and analyze what the next best move is, not only for him, but also for the sport of boxing.”
De La Hoya said a bout between Broner and World Boxing Organization lightweight titleholder Ricky Burns is “very possible.”
“That fight has already been discussed a few months back,” De La Hoya said. “We’re going to sit down with the whole team and analyze. That’s a big possibility.
“I think a lot of fighters are going to think twice in fighting Adrien Broner, and a lot of fighters are going to jump at the opportunity to be the first guy to beat Adrien Broner. He’s in a perfect position right now.”
David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com .
