by Luis Sandoval
In the last few years we have become accustomed to seeing two names usually linked to boxing pay per view events as Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio have been the two biggest stars in the sport. Both men have the ability to generate seven figure pay per view buy rates but as their careers are closer to the end than the beginning, new stars will have to emerge to pick up where they will eventually leave off.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer believes there is one fighter who has the potential and the tools to become a pay per view star. The plan is for 23 year old three time world champion Adrien Broner to headline his first pay per view event on November 9th against Marcos Maidana.
Not only does Schaefer believe Broner is ready for the big stage, but he feels he has better promise than some of today’s big names.
“I think Adrien Broner is ready to be a PPV star. You look at a Juan Manuel Marquez - who is a great fighter and I'm a big fan of his - but he's relatively flat. We did many of the Juan Manuel Marquez fights and those pay per views did 200,000 homes and stuff like that. And he's sort of capped. So he's a great fighter and I don't want to take anything away from him but in order to be a pay per view star you need more than skills and more than talent; you need to be a self promoter” Schaefer would tell BoxingScene.
Broner has gained popularity for his antics both inside and outside the ring. It is that type of attention and self promotion that Schaefer believes will make Broner work as a pay per view fighter.
“The promoter alone can't do it. You need to have a fighter who is willing to engage. You saw that with Oscar [De La Hoya] as well. Oscar was tireless self promoting himself and if you fight and then just go and hide and then you come again and fight, it’s difficult to develop a pay per view star. I think with Adrien you have that. With Adrien you have all these ingredients. Frankly with Adrien I think you have all these ingredients to a point where the only other guy I see today who has those ingredients is obviously Floyd Mayweather” said Schaefer.
Broner definitely knows how to get attention and whether it’s good or bad, he manages to keep his name relevant and in the news. If things go as planned and Broner headlines his first pay per view event, we will not only see him take on one of the toughest tests of his career against Marcos Maidana; but also a true gauge on his drawing power.
You can follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter @truewet007. You can also tune in to Boxingscene’s official audio show The Boxing Lab every Tuesday from 6-8PM PST with host Ernest Gabion, Luis Sandoval, and Ryan Burton.
