Adrien Broner has earned a good living by attempting to emulate Floyd Mayweather Jr. The million dollar purse he earned versus Mikey Garcia doesn’t put him anywhere near “Money” Mayweather’s tax bracket, but most prizefighters never reach million dollar mark for a single fight.
Broner (33-3-0, 24 KO) has been a million dollar fighter for years. Part of the draw was his oversized “AB” persona. His “Can Man” and “About Billions” shticks were endearing to some and annoying to others. Still, whether people were cheering for him or rooting against him, people tuned in to watch.
After suffering the third loss of his career, via unanimous decision to Garcia (37-0-0, 30 KO), Broner finds himself at a serious career crossroads.
The loss proved what hardcore fight fans have known for a while. Broner simply cannot handle strong, skilled, pressure fighters. Marcos Maidana set the blueprint in 2013 when he battered and bruised a then-undefeated Broner around the ring for twelve rounds. Shawn Porter carried by torch by pressuring and roughing up Broner en route to another unanimous decision two years ago.
Now it was Garcia’s turn to play the bully role against Broner. Despite the fact that Garcia moved up in weight from 135-pounds and while Broner moved down from 147-pounds, Garcia was the aggressor. He outpunched his opponent by landing 244 of 789 punches (31 percent) compared to 125 of 400 punches (31 percent) by Broner.
After watching Broner’s latest disappointing performance, one thing is clear. If he wants to continue to be a force in boxing, he needs to immediately abandon his Mayweather imitation.
Welcome to the AB closeout sale! Everything must go: the persona, the fighting style, the desire for 24/7 spotlight. The only thing he needs to emulate from Mayweather is the one thing that has seemingly eluded him: the work ethic.
This is not a shot at Mayweather. Mayweather put in countless years of sweat, dedication and bloodshed in order to perfect his craft. “Money” Mayweather became the biggest earner in boxing history because “Pretty Boy” Floyd put in the work. Mayweather’s act never affected his abilities in the ring.
Mayweather famed shoulder roll is effective because his timing and reflexes are on another level. A young Mayweather spent as much time coming forward and leading with his jab and he did utilizing his superior footspeed to stay out of punching range. By the time Mayweather entered his mid-30s, he didn’t need to move as much because he was able to read what’s coming.
Broner’s attempts to shoulder roll or use a high guard to combat pressure don’t work because his defensive reflexes and punch recognition are simply not good enough. At 28-years-old, Broner should be in his physical prime. He should be able to stalk, move, punch, retreat and slip punches whenever he needs to.
Much of Broner’s movement is ineffective. He moves just for the sake of moving. When opponents are in close range, Broner often plants his feet and starts his poor Mayweather imitation.
If Broner wants to keep the million dollar paydays rolling, he has to do two things: dedicate himself to his craft and fight like a bully.
If you believe Broner’s subdued talking points before the Garcia fight, he could be well on his way to the first part. At the advice of Mayweather, Broner moved from his hometown of Cincinnati to South Florida in effort to focus on his craft. He also relocated his training camp to the mountains of Colorado.
“It’s like Floyd once told me, ‘You’ve got to move out of Cincinnati to reach your full potential. You’ve already did all you can do there. It’s time for you to move out and expand,” Broner told CBS Sports. “I finally got it after these last few incidents that I’ve been in and it’s time to move on.”
After the loss, Broner summoned up the tired “Can Man” shtick and tried to ooze confidence. Meanwhile the crowd booed when he brought up the idea of a rematch despite being soundly defeated.
Hopefully the loss will inspire Broner to double down on his dedication, rather than discourage him. For the past few years, Broner has been plagued with legal problems, weight issues and drama. Working hard in one training camp isn’t enough to beat a fighter of Garcia’s caliber. Sustained dedication could still take Broner a long way.
Since his defense is not good enough to avoid pressure fighters, he’ll need to use his exceptional speed and solid chin in order to take the fight to his opponents.
In his prime, Manny Pacquiao overwhelmed opponents with his speed and ferocity, rather than raw power. Above the lightweight division, Broner’s power is decent, but not intimidating. Therefore he needs to throw punches in bunches to discourage fighters from stalking him around the ring.
Somebody send Broner some tapes clips of old Pacquiao, the late Diego Corrales and Arturo Gatti, Kostya Tszyu, Erik Morales or Julio Cesar Chavez. Those fighters each had different styles and strengths, but they all were effective at pressure fighting.
For years, Broner has talked tough and tried to fight cute. With each loss to an A-level opponent, the talk becomes cheaper and so does the ticket prices and demand for his fights. The next chapter of Adrien Broner must be one that is exciting inside the ring and dedicated inside the gym.
If he can make the transition, Broner can become a force once again. If he doesn’t change his fighting style, he’s doomed to become a division gatekeeper to separate the contenders from the pretenders.
People will pay to watch an exciting fighter. Loud fighters however, have to be perfect. Otherwise, all that talk just becomes background noise. “AB” needs to be a bully or else he’ll be just another B-level opponent.
Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @IshmaelSistrunk.
