by David P. Greisman
Floyd Mayweather Jr. promotes Ashley Theophane, the junior welterweight who will face titleholder Adrien Broner on April 1 on Spike TV from the D.C. Armory in Washington, D.C. Broner, who considers Mayweather a friend, said at a Feb. 29 press conference that for now Mayweather was an enemy because he wanted Broner to lose.
Mayweather, speaking afterward, declined to retort.
“Remember when Adrien Broner lost to [Marcos] Maidana, I was the first one there that was having his back and I was a shoulder for him to cry on,” Mayweather told reporters. “Am I going to bash Adrien Broner or say anything bad about him? Absolutely not.”
During the press conference, Mayweather had kind words for Broner.
“Adrien, very explosive, very young, very agile. Hes a force in boxing right now,” Mayweather said at on point. Soon, he said: “Adrien, I commend you on giving Ashley a chance to make his dream come true. You’ve been a very exciting fighter in the sport of boxing. And I truly believe you’re going to continue to go out there and put on exciting fights, put on a good shot. You’re still learning. Everything’s a learning process. Obviously I know you got the music thing going on, which is another great avenue for you.”
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
