Despite winning world titles across four weight divisions, should Broner have achieved more?
Adrian ‘The Problem’ Broner was defeated by unanimous decision at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood on June 7.
The 34-year-old former four weight world champion has now only win two from his last six bouts, spanning seven years.
Now with fives losses in his last 14 fights, having not held a world title since 2016, it appears his time at the top has well and truly come to an end.
At one point, his talent was undeniable. After all, how many fighters can boast being a former four-weight world champion? Even more uniquely, how many can say the same, yet still be labelled as a perennial underachiever?
Last Friday night, June 7th, in an event put together by the only promoter as controversial as the star attraction himself, Don King rolled out former four weight world champion Adrian Broner (35-5-1 24KO) for his latest comeback bout.
It was announced in April that he was to be pitted against fringe contender Blair Cobbs (17-1-1 10KO), in a decent match up which promised to show us what, if anything, ‘The Problem’ had left.
The answer was a resounding one. The American former world multi-weight world champion is spent at the top level, as he was comprehensively outworked, outscored and dropped en route to a unanimous points defeat.
Though Broner’s unwavering self-confidence rarely seems to be dented in the face of defeat, such is the level of Blair Cobbs, that even Broner, in his most stubborn of post-fight mental states, will surely accept that this is the end of one of the most intriguing careers in recent times.
At one stage Broner truly looked to have the world at his feet and was widely considered as the heir to the pound for pound throne vacated by Floyd Mayweather, as he blasted through a variety of contenders on the world stage between Super Featherweight and Lightweight between 2011-2013.
The flashy Ohioan seemingly encapsulated the perfect blend of all of the tools needed to be the new face of the sport. Brash and outspoken outside the ring, inside the ring he was backing it up.
‘AB’ possessed lightning fast hand speed, both in the form of combinations and sharp single shots, combined with a huge frame down at 130lb and knockout power, allowing him to hold centre ring when he wanted to and push his overmatched adversaries back.
Conversely, If he wished to dazzle and dance, he also had the speed of food to do so, bouncing in and out of range and twisting to every angle, often acting as the matador against the bull. Given their stylistic similarities and starting points in weight divisions, the ‘Pretty Boy Floyd’ comparison was an easy one to make, however what transpired from this point on was a car crash when compared to the superstardom and prestige surmounted by ‘Money’ Mayweather.
The beginning of the demise of Broner’s reputation as one of the sports elite can be easily pinpointed back to one defining moment, when he opted for a left field move to jump up two weight divisions to challenge the popular Italian American slickster Paulie Malignaggi for his WBA Welterweight belt.
Broner was a huge favourite going in, however the bout was evenly matched throughout, with the then undefeated star getting the nod in a razor close split decision.
This performance would turn out to be his only victory at elite level from this point onwards.
Up at 147lbs, and really above 140lbs, when faced with larger and more physically imposing opponents, Broner’s style changed to that of a pure counter puncher, relying on his advantages in speed of hand and foot to try and pick his opponents off at range, yet often being pushed back and outworked.
A common theme in following defeats in mega fights against the likes of Marcos Maidana, Shawn Porter, Mikey Garcia and Manny Pacquiao has been his refusal to let his hands go, moving around the periphery of the ring landing the odd pot shot, electing for game plans as if professional boxing was scored on the old amateur clicker point scoring system.
We have seen infrequent flashes of the fighter Broner once seemed destined to be, such as when he went back down to 140lbs to win the WBA belt over Khabib Allakhverdiev via 12th round TKO in 2015, as well as in the second half of a hotly contested draw against the always entertaining Jessie Vargas in 2018, but these moments have really been few and far between.
The reality is this fluctuation between 140-147 is the product of ill-discipline outside the ring, where Broner was incorrectly manoeuvred into the position of the face of boxing far too quickly, making the fatal mistake of buying into the hype train which was moving all too quickly for him to keep up.
It is easy to say in hindsight, yet a more calculated ascent through the weights with a couple of marquee names at 140lb’s could have put his talent on the pedestal it deserves when looking back over his most memorable moments.
Instead we are left with memories of brief flashes in the ring as to the fighter that may have lay within, alongside a plethora of scandals outside the ring and selection of ridiculous excerpts in pre and post fight interviews.
There is little doubt the polarising star has provided his fair share of entertainment throughout his career, yet not always for the reasons that once seemed inevitable.
We will never know what could have been, but the case of Adrien Broner must be studied by fighters on their way up as to what can happen when you fall victim to buying into your predicted future glory.
Under better guidance, staying clear of 147lb’s too early and with better discipline, who knows, could the former star have been one of the best fighters of this generation?