By: Hans Themistode
Following a loss to Manny Pacquiao in January of 2019, Adrien Broner claimed to be done with the sport of boxing. Whenever the four division titlist was questioned about his return to the ring, he would give one emphatic answer “Fuck boxing.”
His choice to hang up the gloves however, didn’t mean that he was done entertaining his fans. The Cincinnati native traded in the gloves for a microphone and teased an album release entitled “Still Adjusting to Fame,” which would feature prominent rappers such as Rick Ross, Meek Mill and Yella Beezy.
Now it appears that the former four division titlist will be dropping the mic to the return to the ring. At least according to Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza.
“Assuming he is done with his big record release, Broner is coming back in January,” said Espinoza to Boxingscene.
No matter the level of competition over the years, Broner has struggled to produce any wins. Both Pacquiao and Mikey Garcia were on cruise control as they went on to unanimous decision victories against him. Sandwiched between those losses was an uninspiring majority decision draw to Jessie Vargas.
You would have to travel back three years to find a contest which ended in a Broner win. That of course, came in 2017 as he managed to squeak by fringe contender Adrian Granados via split decision.
By the time the brash and flashy Broner (33-4-1, 24 KOs) enters the ring, he will have officially spent two years on the sidelines. But that doesn’t mean that he’s going to get a soft touch when he returns to action.
“We’re in the process of talking about opponents. It’s been two years since he’s fought so we’re in discussions about the opponent, but it will be somebody credible.”
Most of Broner’s success and where he truly built his name, came at lower classes. From 130-140 pounds, Broner either out boxed his opponents or bullied them until the white flag was waved. His move to 147 pounds on the other hand, was simply a bad call.
In June of 2013, Broner went on to capture the WBA welterweight title via close split decision against Paulie Malignaggi. His title reign was immediately truncated in his next ring outing as he was dropped twice and manhandled by Marcos Maidana. From that point on, Broner would float between different weight classes with fairly good results. Yet, whenever he made the trek north of 140 pounds as he did in a 2015 lopsided mauling against Shawn Porter, he came up short.
Weight has always been an issue for Broner. In 2012 he came in three pounds over the weight limit in his 130 pound contest against Vicente Escovedo. He would also miss weight in 2016 against Ashley Theophane and found himself $50,000 lighter in the wallet because of it.
Espinosa though, was candid on his conversation with Broner and was left with the impression that he’ll be able to squeeze down to a weight class where he’s had more success.
“He’s confident he can be 140 precisely.”
