Wait, hear me out.
Ali got inspiration from Gorgeous George in the 50's when he saw this flamboyant guy that people would pay to see lose.
Floyd got inspiration from both Ali and the WWF/E about the marketability of heel characters.
If you look back in time, the loud and flamboyant are much more remembered over the silent killers. Most everyone can name at least three distinct Ali or Floyd opponents without searching it - yet a true monster in Mike McCallum? Crickets except for Roy Jones.
We know Broner was inspired by Floyd at least early on. But I look at the Broner that faced DeMarco 2 and a half years off of the Valero/DeMarco war, and Broner was brilliant that night. He actually performed then like Crawford performs now.
But then something changed and I don't think it was just his lifestyle. It's like he goes in the ring and does the bare minimum every fight. Against C-levels like Theophane that still makes him look like a top flight fighter, but then you get a B-level like Porter and Round 11, and it's like "dude, you didn't even try". One punch knockdown that you KNOW he could have landed at any time against a guy that leads with his head. He should have completely embarrassed Shawn Porter like Thurman did.
Then Broner cut an interview about his name value, where he said that despite his losses to Maidana and Porter, he's still the draw in every fight, because of how he acts outside of the ring; that people are still paying to see him lose.
What if...just what if...Broner took the extreme approach from Floyd, where he'll do the basics to self-preserve, walk away with guaranteed paydays, and just be content with it knowing that people are essentially paying to see him lose? What if the reason he didn't hardly throw against Mikey is that he just didn't care as long as he getting paid? Because in the one or two rounds he did give Mikey a bit of trouble, it was where he used his size advantage. The rest of the fight it's like he was there to collect a check.
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