By: Sean Crose
The Problem is returning. Adrien “The Problem” Broner is reportedly set to fight again (after around a year and a half away from the ring) by taking on Omar Figueroa in the main event of an August 20th Showtime card. About a decade ago, the 34-4-1 Broner was seen as a possible heir to Floyd Mayweather’s throne as the top boxer in the world.
Things didn’t pan out that way, and Broner’s obnoxious, sometimes unhinged, behavior tended to outshine his own considerable ring accomplishments, but there’s little doubt the man has a load of talent and is never uninteresting in the ring. Broner, simply put, is never boring.
As for Figueroa, the 28-2-1 fighter has lost his last two in a row. A win over Broner would do wonders for his flagging career. Obviously, the level of competition has gone down for Broner. Gone are the days of matching the Ohio native with titlists and other high-level foes.
Yet an impressive showing or two could conceivably change all that. He’s still young, Broner, just 32. In this day and age, there’s potentially a lot of time left for him to put his career back on track. Will he have the discipline to, though? And does he still have the ability to perform at the championship level?
Such questions seem to be perpetually swarming around Broner, which is part of what makes him interesting. His fall has been notable, but it’s been slow enough to give the impression that the guy could get his footing back if he truly wished.
It looked like Broner and Figueroa might throw down in July. That obviously isn’t going to happen at this point, but, although nothing official has been announced, it looks like the two men will indeed be squaring off later this summer.
