By Sean Crose
Party time!
With the holidays right around the corner and boxing heating up after a long cold war, it’s time to celebrate!
And Adrien “The Problem” Broner will help you do just that – for a modest fee of between six and ten thousand US dollars per gathering.
Nope, this isn’t a joke. TMZ is claiming the junior welterweight is now going around the land via private bus in his new guise as a professional party goer. What’s more, this latest endeavor has reportedly been quite successful for the man known as The Problem.
Word is Broner’s already booked for every remaining weekend throughout 2014. Sorry gang. Still, word is Broner’s taking bids for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Just imagine the smile on your elderly aunt’s face when that party bus pulls up to her house! And for just ten grand!
To be fair, Dennis Rodman of NBA fame thought of this idea about 15 years ago, but Broner is giving the project his own particular vibe of weirdness.
TMZ was kind enough to provide video footage of Broner raising the roof at a Cleveland based Halloween party. Consider it the Citizen Kane of party of footage – or not.
Either way, it’s clear that Broner doesn’t have boxing much on his mind these days. It’s easy to scoff at the guy, but the truth is, Broner may – just may – be able to juggle several things at once. Provided, of course, that Broner isn’t getting inebriated at these shindigs.
Manny Pacquiao, after all, has numerous careers and somehow finds a way to juggle all of them. Broner may not be Pacquiao, but, hey, maybe he can still perform consistently in the ring, even with the party career on the side.
Maybe.
Or maybe this will be what Broner decides to do instead of box. Perhaps, unlike most people, Broner will decide to party for a living and save the productive stuff for his spare time. One just can’t tell. Broner is a Haymon fighter, after all. It’s not like those guys have been really into challenging themselves lately.
One can almost imagine Showtime just throwing in the towel and broadcasting one of Broner’s party appearances some Saturday night. Would it really be less of a waste of time than Danny Garcia-Rod Salka was? At least Broner footage might be amusing for a second or two.
Therein, however, lies the problem.
Broner, simply put, is no longer being taken seriously. Not by anyone. That’s a far cry from the pedestal the man was on a year ago. Yet, truth be told, Broner acts like he may not want to be taken seriously, anyway. Perhaps all he’s ever wanted is to impress a select few.
There are clearly people out there who, for whatever reason, are willing to pay thousands just to have the guy show up at their gathering. Maybe that’s all the adulation the man craves at this point. He clearly doesn’t seem to give a damn what anyone else thinks of him – least of all those who occupy the fight world.
People can laugh at Broner all they want, but he may end up being smarter than some think. Few, if any, ring analysts view the man as a top fighter anymore. With perhaps only a handful of decent paydays to look forward to, the dude may be cashing in while the going’s good. Seriously, how many are certain that the man will still be a force five years down the road, despite how young he is?
Then again, Broner may just be as random and immature as his reputation would have people believe. He’s certainly exuded less than serious behavior in the past. Still, this latest endeavor from the Cincinnati native is nothing if not lucrative. It may seem ridiculous, but Broner’s getting paid handsomely.
Party on.
