“The Problem” Problem…
By now, you’ve decided whether
you love or hate Adrien Broner. I think he’s fun. He naturally funny, always
sincere with me, even if a little guarded (I’m media. You should be guarded)
and he’s hell on people in the ring. Give me knockouts and I am happy and for
three fights since his disputed win over Daniel Ponce De Leon last March,
Broner has delivered in that department faster than Domino’s.
So what’s the problem with “The
Problem”? Well, if you hate his played-up arrogance, the hair-brushing during
interviews by his dad or the “Mayweatherisms,” then you’re screwed for the next
10 years because you’re stuck with him. He is possibly the Kobe to Floyd’s
Jordan only with the personalities in reverse. Kobe and Floyd are about as
funny as each other, which is to say not at all. Those two could screw up a
chicken and the egg joke. While Jordan is more of a straight man when it comes
to comedy roles, he held his own with Bugs Bunny in “Space Jam.” Unlike his
self-professed favorite fighter, Broner has got jokes to go with his game.
“They call me ‘The Problem,’”
Broner told HBO’s Max Kellerman after hitting Eloy Perez so hard with two right
hands that he fell three times, “but you can call me ‘The Can Man’ ‘cause
anybody can get it. Afri-cans, Ameri-cans, Domini-cans, Mexi-cans. Anybody.
Can. Get!” Then he smiled. So did I because moments before he was cracking wise
(and doing it well), Broner took an opponent the experts (me included) picked
to give Broner fits and took everything away from him before knocking him out.
“I love to entertain,” Broner
told me a few minutes after the fight. “I was definitely focused. It was tunnel
vision. Once I got inside the ring, all I seen was the referee [and Perez] and
that was it from there.”
Broner and his coach, Mike
Stafford, graciously spoke to me immediately following the bout.
“We knew we had him,” Stafford
said. “He was too short, so we worked the jab, worked the jab, go underneath
and then come over the top. We knew we could time him because [Perez] drops his
left hand all the time trying to slip punches and you see what happened:
straight right hand over the top.”
“I can adjust to any style. It
really don’t matter,” added Broner. “It really doesn’t take long. I get in and
make my adjustments and go from there.
That said, Broner seemed a
little surprised he stopped Perez so quickly. At the time, he was just boxing.
“I was just taking my time,”
said Broner. “I was going to break him down over time.”
Broner was specific in his
answer when I suggested he face WBA titleholder Takashi Uchiyama, who many on Twitter
were tabbing for Broner’s next quarry.
“Tell him to sign on the dotted
line. It really don’t matter,” Broner answered.
When I initiated a name game of
opponents, Broner clearly laid out his mission.
“I am ready for this,” Broner
stated. “I was born for this. I’ve been doing this since I was seven. That’s
why I train so hard and why I did what I do. It really don’t matter who I fight
right now. I’ll fight anybody. I’m not a promoter. I’m not a manager. I’m a
professional boxer so whomever they put in front of me, that’s who I am going
to fight.”
Fair enough.
How good is Broner? Time will
tell. It’s likely that he is not even a true 130-pounder but simply a very
talented 22-year-old fighter passing through en route to what he dreams will be
greatness. His Mayweatherisms, such as the slow, relaxed pace and the low,
offensive output with the fluid style that capitalizes and neutralizes rather
than attacks blindly are good things. Broner has a very strong presence in the
ring. Some of the things he seems to copy, like the way he prayed in the corner
of the ring, for instance, seem to be a little like how Kobe still hangs his
tongue like Michael when driving. He may or may not grow out of these quirks but
who cares? The kid is very talented. Everyone has influences.
Questions remain as they do
with all young fighters. One question in my mind stuck out that night as it
does for some boxing fans. Broner’s answer left me with another. Will Broner
rematch the only disputed win of his career, the Ponce de Leon fight?
Broner said, “I went ahead and
talked to him by myself when there was nobody there and I asked him and he said
no, so that explains itself.”
Coach Stafford reiterated that
they offered a rematch but as of yet, I haven’t been able to reach Ponce de
Leon for comment. When I do, I’ll be sure to let you know the answer.
